A New Adventure
by Lyoko Barbossa
Summary: Yeah yeah yeah I know, lame title.  Sequal to my Benwolf Oneshot.  A new threat looms over the horizon.  Can Ben and Gwen defeat this new threat?  It's a Bwen fic, just to warn you guys...
1. Prologue Part I

AN: Hello everyone, Lyoko Barbossa here!

I've received a peculiar review on my Benwolf Oneshot from someone named saiyanking90, and I personally found it quite intriguing to say the least.

"no not the end you have a world of potetcal with this fic the way it'swritten, finally someone made ben into the half wolf i've been waiting forthis and your not going to end it there, i'd be more than happy to help it youneed any"

As a result, we've been talking to each other and I decided to continue this one shot in another fanfic which I believe maybe just as enjoyable as it's predecessor.

Ben: Oh I hope so; I really enjoyed the end part where you had -

Lyoko: Whoawhoawhoa, slow down there, Ben. Don't wanna spoil it just yet.

Now, as I was saying, he's even offered to let me use his OC, Drago, for this fic.

Drago: Like I had much of a choice…

SK90: You're gonna be in this fanfic and you're gonna LIKE it. *shoots Drago a death glare*

Drago: *flinches slightly* T'ch, fine… Whatever…

Lyoko: Now, before we continue on, I must warn you guys that Ben will no longer be using the Omnitrix in this fanfic.

Ben: WHAT!

Lyoko: That's right, because you won't be needing it anymore. Instead, you'll be getting even better powers; powers that come from the combination of your Loboan DNA and your human DNA.

Ben: Sweet!

Um… But what about Gwen?

Lyoko: Oh don't worry, I'm upping her powers to rival yours.

SK90: Alright, now can we start this thing off already?

Lyoko: Oh right! Neither me nor SK90 own Ben 10 or Power Rangers: SPD. But SK90 owns Drago and I own Vexents, both of which probably won't appear in this immediate chapter... Tee hee…

**Chapter 1: Birth of the TRUE Underdog**

The Navajo desert, home to a variety of desert dwelling fauna and flora. At first glance, one might miss the majestic beauty of this land, especially the nearby village, or the serene tranquility from a nearby oasis, or the huge crater with a slowly melting crystal in it -

Wait? Huge crater? Melting crystal?

Oh crap, they're at it again…

**STRIKE SHADOW CLAW**!

**CRYSTAL BARRAGE**!

Six months…

Six months since the twin cousins had learned of Ben's Loboan heritage.

Six months since they agreed to train under Ben's biological mother, Yenalda.

Six months since they discovered their true loves.

Both Ben and Gwen had been practicing all kinds of crazy moves and techniques under Yenalda's guidance. Gwen had learned within the second day of their training session that Loboans had magic users that they called mages and druids instead of witches and warlocks. Yenalda was one such mage herself, specializing in the utilization of frost techniques.

Ben had no such luck in trying to perform any of the spells she knew, so Yenalda had taught him some of the basic shadow attacks that any young Loboan pup would know, only his were different… To be more precise, they were at least a dozen times more powerful than what they should be.

The most basic of all Loboan shadow attacks, the **Strike Shadow Claw**, was only supposed enable a Loboan's claw to glow slightly, enabling them to rip through even the metal that human's call 'iron'.

Ben, however, was making this attack become a full blown ranged attack. A shockwave equivalent to the arc he swung his claw to forms from his claw and heads towards his target, increasing in length the further it got.

Gwen had learned a slightly more advanced ability, the **Crystal Barrage** spell. She had mastered it in a matter of hours. The spell enables her to form fist sized ice shards that she can shoot as if they were bullets coming from a machine gun. This spell has devastating power behind it, but it could backfire if any of her shards hit something other than the ground and the intended target for you see, the shards, like bullets, have the ability to ricochet when they hit something.

*Play Official510's Metroid Fusion Serris Battle (Remix)

After their attacks had collided with each other, an explosion occurred, apparently mostly due to the **Strike Shadow Claw** attack.

Both Ben and Gwen stared at each other for barely even a minute before the both charged at each other, Ben on all fours running like an actual wolf and Gwen levitating a couple of inches off the ground.

Ben had started collecting **Shadow Energy** into his right claw until it became engulfed in it. **Shadow Energy** is an internal energy source that Loboans use for most of their attacks such as Ben's **Strike Shadow Claw**. Some of the normal Loboan attacks, however, do not require **Shadow Energy** to use such as Ben's **Howling Blast**.

Gwen saw this and concentrated her magical energy towards her right arm, forming something akin to Diamondhead's sword-like arms. This is a spell known as** Chrysalis Formatus**, a spell that concentrates the caster's magical energy towards their arm(s) and creating a blade made out of either **Frost**, **Fire**, or **Arcane** elements depending on which tree the caster specializes in. In this case, Gwen seems to have a **Frost **affinity, hence her ability to master most of her spells nearly instantly.

How do I know all this?

Because me and my partner-in-crime were given the direct orders to watch over the two incase any alien attack were to commence on them, but let's be honest, the way those two are fighting, I doubt even VILGAX would be able to even scratch them.

The speed they employ their attacks with.

The grace of each dodge they perform.

The power of their wills.

I gotta say, these two were MADE for fighting.

With the required **Shadow Energy** he needed, Ben leapt into the air about a good five, maybe six, feet off the ground and dive-bombed at Gwen.

Gwen had anticipated this and also jumped into the air, dashing towards her cousin.

"**SHADOW LAZER CLAW!**"

"Eat THIS!"

Both cousins slashed at each other with their attacks, colliding within two seconds of their battle yells, and began their descent towards the ground. Just as they land, the two opponents jumped away from each other to gain more ground. They each landed about 4 yards from each other, but the distance didn't last long as Ben began dashing towards his cousin again, this time gathering a whole mess of **Shadow Energy** around his entire body, engulfing him as he spun around like a corkscrew and yelled out, "**SHADOW SCREW!**"

…

Okay, didn't know that was the actual name of the attack, I always called it the Shadow Drill.

The **Shadow Screw** attack is a slightly more advanced Loboan shadow attack. It enables the user to encase themselves in **Shadow Energy** in the form of a drill. The only downside to normal Loboans is the fact that once the attack starts, they can't change directions.

But then again, Ben's not a normal Loboan…

He's only HALF Loboan.

The gap had nearly closed in an instant before Gwen jumped a good four or five feet into the air, performing a front flip as she reached peak height. Though Ben was spinning like mad, he could hear that she had jumped over him and twisted his body enough to turn the attack around, attempting to strike her in her blind spot, but this was avoided as she performed a back flip over Ben, once again avoiding his attack.

After this, Ben reverted back to normal and landed on all fours, his left foot and claw in front of his face, his right claw under it's respective shoulder, and his right leg stretched out behind him; his tail wagging all the while.

Gwen had landed gracefully in a crouching position similar to most gymnasts on this planet.

They both stared at each other once again for a minute or so before they both began to gather their respective energies.

Gwen began to emit a sky blue colored aura around her petite frame. Her eyes changed to pure neon blue as they glowed. Finally, a crater had formed right under her. From where I'm at, it looks to be about 1.45 foot in diameter.

"Aw crap…" my normally emo partner complained.

"She's entered **Hyper Mode** again…"

"Well what did you expect, Drago? A slap on the wrist? This is a Training Spar; she's _gotta_ go all out." I rebutted.

"That doesn't mean she's gotta go that far, damn idiot's gonna kill her cousin if not herself."

"She's still trying to get her body used to it. After all, she did learn it just three days ago."

Yes, we were arguing about Gwen and her **Hyper Mode** again.

Hmm?

You don't know what **Hyper Mode** is?

Oh wait yeah, that's right, you're just now reading this fanfic. Allow me to fill in the gaps for ya.

**Hyper Mode** is a Loboan mage's strongest ability and normally a trump card for last resort situations.

It increases their speed and the power of their spells by about 15 fold, making them extremely tough cookies to crumble.

There is a catch to this power, however. Should they completely exhaust the energy that **Hyper Mode **grants, they'll be left completely exhausted and immobile for about 20 seconds, more than enough time for an enemy to kill them.

"You're also forgetting about Ben's **Shadow Form**. It rivals that of Gwen's **Hyper Mode**."

Speaking of which, Ben began to gather huge amounts of **Shadow Energy** into his body and building it up.

The result?

His canines became slightly larger, his face became longer, his claws became bigger, and the hair on his head grew to about mid-back and began to stick up in the air in spikes. His eyes had acquired a more feral look than they were before. Just like Gwen, Ben had made a crater below him, but his was about four feet in diameter.

**Shadow Form** enables a Loboan to increase their strength, speed, power, and agility for the duration of the form, which varies from Loboan to Loboan.

Currently, Ben's able to hold his **Shadow Form** for about twenty-four seconds, a second shorter than what Gwen can hold her **Hyper Mode** for.

In a flash, they had both disappeared from sight.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me… C'mon, Vexents, we've gotta - huh?"

Teeheehee, Drago turned to look at me, but I left long ago.

"Momma f!ing Mia!"

He had vanished from his previous spot just as Ben and Gwen collided with each other in that exact spot. A shockwave erupted from their impact, causing the boulders we were hiding behind to turn into dust.

"Good lord, Drag-Queen," I said as he pops up beside me with a face that promised certain doom. Hehe, he REALLY hates it when I say that, and speak of the devil his IMMA-RAPE-YOU-TIL-YOU-COUGH-UP-YOUR-OWN-NUTS face appeared. "Another second and you'd have ended up like that guy." I joked, pointing to the now ex-boulder.

"Damn you and your speed, you little roadrunner!" he complained… again…

I hate it when he calls me a roadrunner. I mean do I have feathers? Do my legs look like chicken legs?

…

On second thought, don't answer that second one… They're skinny enough to be confused for chicken legs…

The cousins suddenly disappeared again, and in their place were two streaks of light; one sky blue, one blackish-purple.

Each time the streaks collided with each other, a shockwave similar to the one from their first collision formed.

They were going at it hard this time, it looked more like something from an anime or something… They were all "BLAM BLAM BLAMBLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAMBLAMBLAM…"

Um…

I'm not acting very professional, am I?

Heehee…

I tend to do that…

Anyway, the fight was so fast that Drago could barely keep up with his human form. It was like one second they were in one place, and the next, they're a mile and a half away, and the second after that they were five miles, then the second after THAT, they were back to three feet…

"Good lord… And they're so young, too."

"T'ch, you sound like an old geezer, Vex," my partner retorted, "How old are you?"

"How old do I LOOK?" I asked back in a cocky tone.

"… On second thought, I don't wanna know…"

"Yeah, that's more like it."

"You're annoying as hell, you know that, right, roadrunner?"

"How many times do I have to say 'My name is NOT roadrunner?" I asked with a bit of a smirk.

"Five, maybe six times a day." Drag-queen answered with a smirk of his own.

God I hate it when he does that.

"Then you know my answer already, Drag-queen."

At this, he growls at me and rebukes, "If it weren't for the fact that these are Max's grandkids, I'd have never accepted this mission."

"Who said it was a mission?"

"Max, of course."

"Then it isn't a mission. He's not even MY superior officer. This is charity work, ya nimrod…"

He growled at me again, but kept his mouth shut. He always does this when I'm right. I smirk at him and look back to the fight.

We continued to watch the lightshow that was being put on for us before Drago asked a peculiar question I'd never think he'd ask.

"Do you think they're ready? To take on such a burden?"

…

What the f…

What kind of question is that for an emo like Drago to ask?

"Dude, I swear, if they last even one minute against us, they'll be overqualified for the job, but we still need to scope them out before we do anything." I half-joked, then placed a serious expression on my face.

"And if they aren't ready, they'll just continue to rot away in this dump."

Oh god that sounded more cruel than I intended…

Man, I'm as bad as Drag-queen when I'm serious…

Note to self: Never get serious.

"That's kind of harsh… Even for me."

"Then that means we need to make sure they're ready."

We looked back to the fight, since we heard an explosion.

Ben had been using his** Shadow Lazer Claws** and **Strike Shadow Claws** all over the place, and for Gwen it was one **Crystal Barrage** after another.

Ben had landed on the ground and started to inhale so deeply that his abdomen seemed to cave in and his chest swelled to the size of a birthday balloon. "**Howling**…"

Gwen had landed a good mile away from Ben and started condensing her magical energy into her hands as she rolled them around like she was rubbing a crystal ball. "**Draconic**…"

"Oh crap…" I said.

Drago knew what I meant and immediately yelled, "HIT THE DECK!"

We both kissed dirt faster than anyone could drop a hot potato. And that's when the true destruction began…

"**BLAAAAASST!**"

"**EMBROSIA!**"

The **Howling Blast** is ANY Loboan's most powerful, natural ability. Some could use it to either knock an opponent out if they were weak enough, or rip an entire Galvanic Warship apart if they were strong enough.

Ben just HAD to wind up in the latter department…

Gwen's** Draconic Embrosia** is an extremely powerful spell that can decimate ANYTHING in it's path, so long as it is not as powerful as the blast itself.

Both attacks have one major drawback…

The kick that's behind those things, whew…

After launching their attacks, both Ben and Gwen flew back about 20 feet each and crashed on their backs…

HARD.

*End Song*

The greenish **Howling Blast** and the violet **Draconic Embrosia** were quickly nearing each other until they collided with a bang that shook the earth we stood, or in me and drago's case, laid, and the flash from said collision reached about five miles in diameter…

"DAMN, THOSE KIDS CAN FIGHT!"

When the flash wore off, there was a crater approximately seven miles in diameter and depth was left. I quickly jumped up to a standing position to try to find the two cousins, and spotted them.

Ben was laying on his back, reverting back to his previous state. Only a few scratches were evident on him as far as I could see…

Gwen was in the same conundrum. She, two, was on her back, reverting back to her previous state.

Ben got up and walked over to where Gwen was, being careful to go around the crater that they just made. After a good 20 seconds, just as I had mentioned when I told you about her** Hyper Mode**, Gwen finally got up and walked to where Ben was, also going around the crater.

After about three minutes of walking, the finally met.

They both looked hard at each other, panting very heavily, for about half a minute before they started laughing.

They're LAUGHING?

They just made a great concave pimple into the Earth and they're LAUGHING?

That's considered vandalism…

Ben flung his left arm over Gwen's shoulders as she snaked her right arm around his waist.

They finally stopped laughing and started talking. Ben was the first to speak.

"Hehe… How was that?"

"Oh my god, that was so much fun." Gwen answered.

"Hey, did you count how long you were in **Hyper Mode**?"

"Yup, lasted 27 seconds. You?"

"28 in **Shadow Form**. I guess we're both improving, huh?"

"Yeah."

At this, they both gave a light chuckle.

Their faces leaned in…

And I couldn't help but get one hell of a nosebleed and a huge ass blush because those two were KISSING each other…

On the MOUTH!

Drago simply chuckled and said, "Max was right… You really ARE a pervert." in a matter-of-fact tone.

But I had to correct him.

"I am NOT a pervert." I said in anger and embarrassment.

"I am a SUPER PERVERT! MUWA HA HA HA HA!" I yelled out with pride and slam med a fist into my chest to prove it.

At this, he promptly face-faulted.

"That is NOT something to be proud of, road runner…"

"Oi, at least I'm not a closet perv, unlike YOU! You can't even SPEAK to a girl that's mildly CUTE and when a smoking hot babe walks by you and says 'Hi' you go launching off to outer space with a nosebleed."

Oh my god I have NEVER seen him so red like that before in my life.

I'm not sure if it was out of anger or embarrassment….

Ben and Gwen had released their kiss, breathing mildly heavy, before Ben suggested they go back to their cave.

And that's what they did.

When they were out of sight, I signaled Drago that the coast was clear.

We then jumped to the side of the crater they made and looked at it.

I whistle in impressiveness as I surveyed the area.

"Man, those kids pack a wallop, don't they?" I asked Drago.

"Hmph, I hate to say it, but they sure have colored ME impressed."

At that, I took out my Plumber's badge and pressed the center of the insignia. After that, a few different holograms appeared, one in particular that I was looking for was down at the bottom of the group.

I moved all of the others away and pressed the hologram that looked like a dog and waited for someone to answer.

Didn't take long for the top dog, literally, Doggy Kruger himself, to answer.

He was a strong Loboan that had started the Plumber's _SPD_ branch.

Gah, wait… I forgot, you're still new to this…

My bad…

_SPD_ is an acronym for a very special breed of Plumbers called the _Rangers_. Basically, _SPD _is this:

_SPACE_

_PATROL_

_DELTA_

They are the baddest of the bad within the Plumber ranks. Most of those in the_ SPD _branch are what are known as _Rangers._

_Rangers_ are the ultimate fighters that have all kinds awesome abilities, gadgets, and vehicles called _Zords_.

Man, and to think I almost made the cut.

Well… I WAS offered a job there, but they seemed a little too high-strung for me.

Take Drag-queen for example:

He's a member of _SPD_, and the _Red Ranger_ of his squad to boot.

_Rangers_ are color coded to signify their rank in the system, along with a matching number to boot.

Red is Leader: 1.

Blue is Second in Command: 2.

Green is Tactician: 3.

Yellow is Combat Specialist: 4.

Pink is Medical Specialist: 5.

This, however, doesn't apply to Commander Doggy Kruger, though.

His rank is 100 and his _Ranger Uniform_ was made specifically to his recommendations.

He's the reason behind_ SPD_'s dog themed insignia.

When his hologram showed up, it only showed his face from the neck up, and I could tell he seemed antsy about something.

"Well? How'd my nephew and niece do?"

"See for yourself, Commander."

I turned the badge so that his face would be able to see the crater.

Though I couldn't see it, I could tell he was as impressed as Drago.

"Well, Commander… What do you think? Think they're ready?"

He closed his eyes and lowered his head in thought.

Not a good sign…

He stayed like that for awhile, approximately twenty-five minutes, before he opened his eyes and looked up at me.

That's when he gave his reply.

"I believe that they are finally ready, but do not confront them."

"Why not, sir?"

He gave a soft smile and said in his friendliest voice, "Because I want to be the one to give them this opportunity… personally."

At this, I gave a small smile of my own and replied, "Affirmative, sir. Complying."

"Thank you, Vexents."

AN: Well, it's done. I'm honestly happy with this and I hope you guys are too.

Until next time!

Ja ne!


	2. Prologue Part II

AN: Alrighty, guys. This is my second chapter for this fic. Sorry if it's a little late, but I've been doing several things at home, mostly concerning college…

But I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

SK90: So what's gonna happen this time?

Lyoko: This chapter is gonna be Ben and Gwen's take on the first chapter. Basically, it'll be a day in their life.

SK90: Ah, I getcha.

Ben: One question: are Gwen and me sharing a bed together or something?

Lyoko: I don't wanna give too much away, but no, you will not; mostly due to age.

Ben: *slightly disappointed* Oh…

Lyoko: Sorry, kiddo, but ya not getting off that easily. Now for the disclaimer.

Vexents: *dashes into the room in a blue blur* Neither sayianking90 nor Lyoko Barbossa own Ben 10 or Power Rangers: SPD. Sayianking90 owns Drago and Lyoko over there *points at Lyoko with his thumb in a lazy manner* owns me.

**Chapter 2: My Life as a Pre-Teen Werewolf… I mean Loboan. **_**Damn that's gonna take some getting used to**_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Damn it, there's that aggravating noise again…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Someone PLEASE stop it!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

It's TORTURING ME!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

STOP IT!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Please… stop it…

"Oh would you just hit the snooze button already…" Gwen said in a sleepy voice that Ben found insufferably cute. He watched as his cousin/lover curled even deeper into her comforter as she rolled so that her back was facing Ben, her futon mattress barely even moving.

Ben, in an equally sleepy voice, simply stated, "Yeah, yeah…" Ben turned over on his futon and found the offending object that was emitting the annoying noise. He reached out to the alarm clock that was on the floor with him and Gwen, and hit the big cylindrical button that had the word 'Snooze' on it with the palm of his hand.

After that, peace and quiet had returned to the cave as Ben and Gwen continued to slumber peacefully.

Though said peace wasn't meant to be…

AWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ben immediately jerked upright, clamping his clawed hands solidly onto his ears in an attempt to shut out the noisy howl while Gwen jumped up from her futon and got into a fighting stance looking around for the source of the noise. She didn't have to look for long as the one that emitted the howl was non-other than her Aunt Yenalda, Ben's real mother.

Yenalda smirked at the two cousins as they got re-situated with their surroundings. Ben had moved his left claw slightly to check and see if there was any abnormal sounds, and when he found none, dropped both his arms to his sides as he relaxed with a sigh of relief. Gwen had dropped her arms to her sides and released a sigh of annoyance rather than relief before she spoke her mind, "Aunt Yenalda, would you mind NOT doing that next time we try to sleep in? I mean sure the _first_ time you did it was funny, but the funny stopped coming after the 22nd time…"

Yenalda's smirk only grew at those words as she spoke.

"Are you questioning my technique, young pup?"

Gwen merely looked at the Loboan in puzzlement before it dawned on her what she was talking about. The lycanthrope had warned both of them that if they ever question her training technique or her work ethic that they would receive very harsh punishment. At remembering that warning, Gwen's eyes became wide in fear as Ben had once received this punishment before.

_Incoming Transmission:_

Ben, Gwen, their grandfather Max, Yenalda, Kai Green, and her grandfather Wes Green (Yes, I finally bothered to look up his name.) were all sitting around on a red blanket having a picnic.

Ben and Gwen were having a wonderful time together eating something that Max _himself_ thought was weird and enjoying it: Rice balls, courtesy of Wes Green from one of his missions as a plumber. Kai and Wes were both enjoying smoked salmon-filled rice balls. Yenalda had gone with Wes's teriyaki beef-filled rice balls, much to Wes's delight. Ben and Gwen both preferred their rice balls plain and ate in pure contempt. Every once in a while the two would kiss each other very briefly before they resumed their meal.

Max, however, refused to even touch the stuff and looked at the little balls of rice as if they were the devil's advocates.

Ben and Gwen both saw his reaction and wondered what was up with him. Wes saw this and decided to answer their unasked question.

"Max has hated rice balls for the simple fact that it's a special type of rice that clumps together when you cook it."

"NO rice is supposed to do that, Wes, and you know it!" Max retorted.

Now if you thought the cousins were confused before, they were stupefied now. The man that they believed could eat ANYTHING ANYONE could come up with wouldn't even touch a simple rice ball?

They couldn't believe their eyes.

They thought this was a dream.

They thought the world would come to an end.

So they did the only thing a pair of eleven year olds could do in a situation like this…

They laughed.

They laughed and they laughed and they laughed and they laughed some more for good measure.

Ben was even rolling on the ground laughing while Gwen was holding her gut feeling like it would burst at any moment.

They stopped their laughing fit when their lungs cried for oxygen…

But immediately started back up after they got their breaths.

Max had a small blush of embarrassment as he folded his arms across his chest and looked off at some random pebble off to the side of the picnic.

Gwen was the first of the two to speak after the laughing had died down.

"Haha, unbelievable… The man who has the gut of a goat, can cook some of the most disgusting things Ben and I have ever seen with maggots, cockroaches, and even dung beetles, heehee, is afraid of a few clumps of plain RICE!" At that, she started up her laughter again followed closely by her boyfriend/twin cousin.

Max had finally had enough.

"Benjamin, Gwendolyn, that's enough!"

At this, both cousins/lovers stopped their laughing and sat straight up.

"You know it's not nice to pick on one's weakness unless it's in a fight."

Both pre-teens stared at their hands (or in Ben's case, claws) in shame.

"Besides, plain rice by itself is just plain nasty and grotesque. You wouldn't catch me DEAD eating that stuff without SOMETHING on it."

Gwen had finally heard more than she could handle. She decided it was time her Grandpa Max got a taste of his own medicine.

"No offense, grandpa, but LOOK at you; you're acting like a ten year old over a stupid rice ball! You've forced me and Ben to eat your worm food, and now I think we deserve to force you to eat at least ONE dish of our choosing."

Ben decided to throw his two cents in, picking up on Gwen's plan.

"Yeah, and we choose the rice ball."

Gwen looked at her boyfriend/cousin with a playful smirk and nodded at him. To Ben, it meant that he just did something right again.

Max had a shocked look on his face at his two grandchildren.

"You can't be serious?"

Kai, who had been silent all this time, had finally decided to speak up.

"Oh they're serious, alright. After all, an eye for an eye. You forced them to eat something you like, they have the full right to force you to eat something THEY like; whether you like it or not."

Wes was about to intervene, but stopped himself because he knew his granddaughter was right on the mark with that statement, and simply nodded in agreement.

"Sorry, Max, but Kai, my son, and his mate-to-be are right." Said son and mate-to-be were blushing at this comment.

Max was dumbfounded. In a mere instant, everyone he knew turned against him.

He stared for only a moment as all eyes were on him before he lowered his head and sighed in defeat.

"Okay… You win… Gimme one of those…"

He said snatching Wes's brand new, uneaten rice ball out of his hand. Wes looked dejectedly at Max before he let it slide.

Max brought the rice ball to eye-level and stared at it before he changed his blank expression to one of utter disgust. Slowly, he opened his mouth and brought the rice ball closer, and closer, and closer.

Everyone else stared silently.

He closed his mouth onto the rice ball, taking a decent chunk out of it. Slowly, he chewed, and chewed, and chewed, and continued chewing until he swallowed the mouthful of rice down, apparently straining to do so as it took a few tries.

The others stared, waiting for his answer.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"G'HUH! W-WA'ER! I nee' WA'ER!"

Wes had handed Max's canteen to him. Max took it out of his plumber friend's hand and took huge gulps of the liquid contents. After several minutes, he finally calmed down, allowing a hefty sigh to escape him as he moved the canister away from his mouth.

His expression of relief, however, turned to one of anger. He then pointed at the remaining rice balls and shouted, "**THAT'S **WHY I **NEVER **EAT RICE WITHOUT SOMETHING ON IT! I always get choked on it!"

At this remark, everyone who was watching in anticipation promptly face faulted.

"You COULD have told us that instead of acting like a big baby, Max…" complained Yenalda.

Max thought she brought up a valid point, but dashed it when he remembered WHY he did what he did.

He retorted on Yenalda's complaint, "I didn't want anyone to know that plain rice is my one weakness; Superman's got Kryptonite, fire has water, and I have plain rice. There, I said it…"

Yenalda simply slapped the palm of her clawed hand onto her "presumed" forehead and stated, "Then _why _didn't you say anything?"

"Because one doesn't give away their weakness to others; not even family."

Everyone else present face faulted again. (Ain't I a stinker?)

Ben was the first one to recover and respond, but his response was anything but contempt. In fact, he was BEYOND pissed at his grandfather.

"**WHAT KIND OF ANSWER WAS **_**THAT**_**!** I oughta rip you to SHREDS, old man, and mail them off to Vilgax marked: "PLEASE BEND, FOLD AND MUTILATE!"

"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, that's enough!" Yenalda exclaimed.

At this Ben's expression of anger turned to one of utter fear. He turned to look at his mother, fearing the worst.

"That outburst is gonna cost you, Benjamin. Are you ready for your punishment?"

Ben started to shake his head, but he decided against it and nodded at her.

"Very well…"

Everyone eyed her in anticipation.

"You are to go three months without eating a single one of Mr. Green's rice balls!"

At this, Max and Kai both face faulted at the punishment.

Gwen and Wes, however, didn't.

Wes looked at the boy with the same pity as one would to a homeless, jobless citizen of New York city. Gwen, however, showed pure concern and sympathy for the boy as his judgment has been passed down.

It took a few minutes, which felt like hours, before Ben could reply.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! PLEASE don't make me do that!" Ben cried, as if his entire collection of Sumo Slammer gear had been taken away.

Max and Kai had recovered from the initial shock only to be hit with another one.

Kai slapped her hand onto her face while Max merely looked in astonishment.

He had never seen Ben act this way to any punishment he could dish out. He could also see that Ben actually looked hurt by this punishment. He decided to speak his confusion.

"Um… What's going down with him?"

Wes had heard his question and answered, "Ben and Gwen have both, surprisingly, grown fond of my rice balls a few days ago. By the looks of it, they both became… Addicted to them."

"Ah, that explains this reaction then."

Gwen decided to broadcast her concern.

"Um, Aunt Yenalda… Aren't you being a little too… _harsh_ on him?"

At hearing the word "harsh", the lycanthrope snapped her head in the red-head's direction.

"Harsh? Harsh? You think that is harsh?" Yenalda asked, her smirk growing.

Gwen felt a chill run down her spine as she looked on.

"If you think THAT is harsh, then I won't be afraid to give the same punishment to you if you EVER question my authority OR my training methods. That goes double to you, mister!" the Loboan warned Gwen then sharply turned to her son.

They both merely nodded in agreement as Gwen finished her rice ball and Ben sat silently, staring at the remaining rice balls with a kind of sadness one would find in the eyes of a child that had lost their best friend because of them moving.

_End Transmission:_

That had been the worst three months for Ben that she had ever seen before. Gwen was counting her blessings that she had been there to comfort him in the long run, or else he'd have never made it out alive with his spirit intact.

Upon remembering what was going on before her, she slowly shook her head.

Yenalda smirked at seeing her reaction, then softened her facial expression from mischief to tenderness as that same smirk became a soft smile.

"That's good to hear. Now get ready, you two: your daily sparing session starts in less than two hours."

The Loboan then quickly turned around and strolled out of the cave-like room.

After her lycanthrope aunt had left, Gwen had released a breath she did not know she was even holding. She then set her sights on her lover who was still recovering from the previous howl. Though it was not enough to make him go deaf, it was definitely enough to make Ben lose his equilibrium for a few minutes because he was trying to get up, only to fall right on his bum each time he did so. When he went to fall for a third time, Gwen had finally saw fit to intercept him this time and catch him on his way down. She had her arms wrapped tenderly, yet secured, around his semi-toned chest that he had been working on when their training first began. A slight blush crept over her face when she felt just how much different his upper torso had been from before all this nonsense had began. Ben felt a pair of slender and soft, yet strong, arms wrap around his chest as if he were a stuffed animal and blushed when he realized that those arms belonged to none other than his cousin/lover.

Both eleven year olds stayed that way for what felt like an hour in comfortable silence before Ben decided to snuggle his head against the crook of Gwen's left shoulder, his furry face brushing against her neck.

Gwen's blush deepened in color, but she didn't reject him; after all, how could she? His fur was so soft, she STILL confuses it for a plushy cat doll she used to own when she was five. His fur brought about feelings of both comfort and nostalgia, and she loved it. Gwen snuggled her head into his hair which now felt exactly like his fur. She began to take in the scent of his hair as she breathed softly into it. To her, Ben smelt like the forest in Yellowstone Park that their Grandpa Max had brought them to on their first day of their summer vacation. She really enjoyed the scent very much, due to her love of nature.

…

Then she had realized that Ben had neglected to put on a shirt again last night. Her blush went from a bright pink to a neon red as she realized she was snuggling against a half-naked Ben.

Gwen released her hold on Ben, leaving him in a disappointed daze as he voiced his dismay in the form of a whimper; not a whimper for one's life, but one used by dogs to beg for something.

Gwen could tell the disappointment in his adorably cute whimper, but she had to make up a good excuse aside from telling him 'Ben, you have no shirt on and I got embarrassed from touching your semi-buff chest.'

For most people, that would have been the dumbest thing to ever say in their lives.

Gwen was no exception to this, so she decided to use a different reason.

"Ben, we have to hurry up and get ready for our sparing session. You're pretty much half naked and neither of us have bathed yet."

Ben merely leaned his head to the right in confusion as she finished. He then voiced his confusion by asking, "Uh, Gwen… we're just gonna get dirty again, why bother bathing?"

Gwen's expression went from embarrassment to a glare that said "ask me that again and I will decapitate you faster than you can say 'oh shit'".

That glare was all the answers that Ben needed before he nodded so fast Gwen thought his head would fall off if not suffer from whiplash. Gwen merely looked at the ground in exasperation before letting something akin to a grunt come out of her.

Ben decided to head over to the bathing hole that he and Gwen use, unaware that Gwen was following right behind him as he dashed off on all fours.

_~~~Borderline Limey… You've been warned…~~~_

The bathing hole was similar to their room except it was about three times bigger with two-thirds of the cave floor making up a pool of crystal clear water which was flowing from what appeared to be an underground spring. The walls of the hole were damp from the moisture giving said walls a kind of crystalline appearance as the droplets glistened. Over by the side of the in-ground pool, near the entrance were some bathing supplies such as sponges, soaps, conditioners, a bucket, and a few other bath oils that Gwen specifically told Ben never to use without her permission.

Considering he bought the oils for her, and her ALONE, he wasn't complaining.

When the two cousins/lovers first came into the bathing hole, the only downside to the place that Gwen could think of was the lack of hiding spots incase of some peeping toms decide to get a free show or something. Luckily she realized that the path here is too winding for anyone to sneak in here without being heard so that made her feel better in the long run.

Ben ran to the water's edge before he instinctively removed his pants, revealing his black boxers with white trim edges and a number ten on the front bottom of his left leg.

Tail wagging in anticipation, Ben crouched down to where his chin almost touched the floor, then jumped into the air before curling into a ball and crying out "CANNONBALL!"

A resounding, echoing splash took place afterwards.

Gwen, hearing the splash from the entryway of the bathing hole, merely shook her head with a small smile at his antics. Gwen had then decided to discard her shirt and pants, allowing her blue sports-styled training bra and matching panties to be seen by all. She hadn't bothered with her shoes and socks because she had started to learn how to get around without them much like Ben, or at least when she's in their cavernous home.

By the time she got into the bathing hole, Gwen saw her cousin/lover performing backstrokes in the water with his eyes closed; completely oblivious to Gwen's presence. Ben twisted his body to where he was right-side up before immediately diving into the crystal clear water. Gwen slowly sank into the cool, refreshing water, letting her muscles relax as she slouched onto the pool floor; the water reaching her chin as she closed her eyes. When Ben resurfaced, he finally noticed that his cousin/girlfriend was in the pool as well, in nothing short of her own underwear.

When he had first seen Gwen do this, Ben freaked out, even after she had explained that it was Yenalda's idea to bathe together. After a little explaining from Yenalda, Ben had agreed to this on the condition that both he and Gwen wear something that they aren't afraid to get wet aside from their swim suits which they only used in public. Each time Ben had seen Gwen nowadays, he could have sworn that she was truly getting more and more beautiful. His eyes scanned her body as he continued to ogle her.

Gwen had opened her eyes up again to see her cousin/boyfriend checking her out, and decided to take advantage of the situation. She stood up in the water that reached about halfway up her thigh, still looking at Ben's wet form, his fur and hair clinging to his body, glistening just like stars of the night in some places.

She decided to re-greet Ben with a pet name she had given him, smiling softly all the while.

"Hey Benny."

Ben replied with his own pet name for her, "Hey Gwenny."

"So, same as usual?" Gwen had asked.

"Yup, your back first, than mine."

Ben then grabbed for the soap bar that they had been using, dunked it into the water once or twice, and rubbed it against his palms, trying to lather them up. When he was done, he put the bar back where he had gotten it from. Ben then proceeded to place his hands on his cousin's back, slipping his clawed hands under her bra so that he could wash that area properly. Before he began, however, he spoke to her in a low, guilt-ridden whisper as he brought his lips near her ear, "I'll try not to cut you up too badly this time."

Gwen merely chuckled and said, "Don't try too hard. I'm starting to like the occasional cut or two."

It was true, her back was riddled with scratch marks; each from either their sparring or from Ben accidentally scratching her while washing her back. Unbelievably, it was the latter occurred more often than the former.

When he got the okay, Ben began to massage Gwen's back, treating her skin as if it were porcelain. Gwen was cooing and moaning at Ben's soft yet firm touch, leaning back in an attempt to obtain more of the comfort. This continued for a good two to three minutes before one of Ben's claws accidentally nicked her skin. Gwen gasped at the sensation, but not in pain. In fact, she was gasping in pleasure. Ben flinched slightly as he felt his claw scratch her before apologizing to her.

Gwen shook her head slight and stated, "It's not your fault, Benny. Just keep going."

Ben continued to wash her back, scratching her only two more times (Ben: A new personal best if you ask me. Lyoko: Nobody asked you. Ben: Aww…) before grabbing the bucket, filling it with water, and pouring it's contents onto Gwen's back.

"Thanks, Benny"

"No problem. Now it's your turn."

"Heeheehee, you just can't wait for me to scrub your back, can you?"

"What can I say? You give the best back washings out of the two of us."

Gwen giggled at the complement, knowing full well he was the better of the two. When their training session really got going, Ben had acquired something no one had ever thought he'd get: modesty. He almost never accepts the title of being the best of anything unless it was to veer unsettling assailants. Even then, he rarely did that because one look at one of his glares would send most people who have never met him before running.

Gwen took the shampoo and poured it on Ben's back before putting the container right back where it belonged. She then rubbed her hands together, placed them on his back, and began to massage the shampoo into his fur. Ben was moan and growling at her touch as she worked the shampoo even deeper. After a minute or so, she got a crazy idea.

Gwen grinned in a deviously evil way.

She took one of her hands and began scratching Ben around mid-back. This caused several things to happen:

One: Ben's back slouched so much he thought he'd fall headfirst into the water.

Two: His tongue started hanging out of his mouth as he panted.

Three: His left leg began to move up and down as if he were trying to scratch something invisible with it.

Gwen decided that that was enough fun for the poor boy and took the bucket he had used earlier and rinsed off the shampoo.

_~~~Borderline-Limey scene end~~~_

The twin cousins/lovers finished washing themselves off and got out of the pool. Ben got down on all fours and shook himself dry. Gwen got thrown into a giggle fit when a lot of the water hit her. She grabbed the two towels that were stacked at the far end of the bathing hole and tossed one to Ben who gladly accepted it.

After they dried off, Gwen put on the clothes she wore when she first came in here. Ben opted to waltz around shirtless, but still got back into those same cameo colored pants nonetheless. They made their way to the cave's entrance to find that Yenalda had been waiting for them this whole time. To their surprise, she had the one thing that Gwen had loved food-wise and the one thing Ben had been dying to eat again…

"MR. GREEN'S RICE BALLS!" they both shouted with youthful glee. (AN: Oh god, I'm starting to sound like Might Guy and Rock Lee. XP)

"That's right, young ones. I decided that today's the day that Ben's punishment ends. As for you Gwen, I am dreadfully sorry you had to wait a few days, but Wes ran out of ingredients and had to wait for another shipment to arrive."

"Apology accepted, Aunt Yenalda. Besides, at least I wasn't forced to wait three months, unlike Benny." Gwen giggled after she finished her statement.

"Hey, at least I managed. If it weren't for you, I'd have probably gone insane from withdrawal."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult…"

Ben began to panic. "It's a compliment, Angel." Angel had been another pet name Ben would use on Gwen in a last ditch effort to cheer her up.

Gwen, for the umpteenth time, giggled at Ben's antics and used her second pet name for him. "Wolfy… I know that. You don't need to worry." she said reassuringly as she rubbed her left hand on the top of his head and brought her right to his cheek. Ben had grabbed the hand that was on his cheek with his own claw and whispered to her, "Thank you, Angel." He closed his eyes before he began again, "You really are a great girlfriend. I just hope that -"

Yenalda interrupted his train of thought by clearing her throat before saying, "You do know this is breakfast and that it's getting cold, right?"

Both cousins/lovers reluctantly separated from each other before the sharply turn back and peck each other on the lips.

The three family members ate their breakfast without much excitement except for the occasional kiss, giggle and chuckle.

Then the time came for their daily spar…

Ben had decided to don his shirt, but still refused to put shoes and socks on, mostly due to the fact that they'd either hurt his toes to no end or he'd cut them up to shreds.

Gwen had put her shoes back on and took the barrette in her hair out, handing it too Yenalda to make sure she didn't lose it.

The two cousins had walked a few miles to their usual sparring area; a desolate area with no signs of intelligent life that will get hurt in the crossfire and no snooping eyes to wonder on them.

Ben and Gwen walked in opposite directions with their backs facing the other. Once they were a good three yards away from each other, both cousins/lovers made a one hundred and eighty spin. Gwen merely stood with her feet spread apart slightly, arms slightly straight down, and hands clenched into fists. Ben on the other hand had slammed his claws into the ground, his sharpened nails digging into the earth.

*Play ToLeK and Next Generation's Mortal Kombat Remix

They stared at each other for a good ten minutes in complete silence save for the occasional gusts of wind.

As if by some cosmic cue, they both dashed at each other head first; Ben on all fours, and Gwen with her two legs.

When they reached each other, Ben performed a handstand, attempting to slam his feet into Gwen's head.

She saw this and brought both her arms up in a crisscross fashion to block the attack.

Ben immediately spun on one hand, bringing his left leg around with him in an attempt to slam it into her side.

Gwen also saw this and brought her left arm away from it's previous position and blocked his leg with her forearm.

Ben's next move caught her by surprise.

He used his right foot to launch himself backwards as his hand launched him into the air. He used the momentum of his body to throw a swinging axe kick onto the side of Gwen's head.

Gwen stumbled, completely dazed by the attack, but it only lasted a second as she brought her hand into a fist and threw it at Ben, who caught it in his claw. She then grabbed said claw and flung it over her shoulder, dragging his body with it. Ben was slammed into the ground…

Hard.

He brought both his feet to Gwen's chest and kicked her off before performing a flip to get back up.

Gwen only stumbled back from the kick and decided to perform a cartwheel before twisting her body into performing a backflip. Ben had heard her hands hit the ground from her cartwheel and put his clawed fingers of his left hand together as if to form some sort of blade.

When she was close enough, Ben twisted his body so that he slashed at Gwen, but he waited to late as the slash turned into a hand chop. Gwen fell back as she held her side trying to subdue the pain. She brought herself back into the fight as she spread her legs as far as they could without much strain, brought her left forearm about hip height in-between her and Ben parallel to the ground, her right forearm above and behind her head, also parallel to the ground, and bent her knees slightly.

Ben brought his right arm up to his face's height, slightly bent at the elbow, and held out his claw as if trying to grasp something. His left arm was behind him, palm facing forward slightly. Ben's right leg was in front of him, bent slightly while his left leg was straight and behind him.

Gwen was the first to move as she dashed at him. Ben followed suit as he ran at her on all fours. Just as he was about to jump at her, Gwen jumped up into the air and cried out "**CRYSTAL BARRAGE!**" as huge shards of ice began to form out of nowhere and shot at the half-Loboan boy. Ben barely had time to roll out of the attack's range. As the shards hit the ground, a small crater appeared where each shard hit.

"_Looks like Gwenny's getting more into this session than before. I'll have to go out of my way a bit for her enjoyment._" Ben thought.

Ben decided to retaliate by using his own move. He gathered some **Shadow Energy** into his right claw and swung it in Gwen's general direction calling out his attack's name, "**STRIKE SHADOW CLAW!**"

*End song*

*Play PEACE (^^)v by BeforU

Things were finally heating up between the two as their speed and power increased. Ben dashed at Gwen once again on all fours as she prepared another **Crystal Barrage**. Ben saw this and used a **Strike Shadow Claw**, calling out the attack's name once again, to distract her. It worked as she jumped above the attack. Ben saw this and increased the power in his right claw and swung it at Gwen. Gwen had prepared her attack beforehand and launched it.

"**STRIKE SHADOW CLAW!**"

"**CRYSTAL BARRAGE!**"

The attacks collided in a fiery explosion of ice, smoke, mist, and **Shadow Energy**.

Gwen had landed on the ground in an acrobatic fashion as she eyed Ben just standing there, and straightened herself.

Gwen looked into Ben's eyes and saw the fire that laid within them, that blazing will to win at any cost to protect those he deemed precious. She knew she wasn't a true enemy, but to see that fire in his eyes with her own brought about a sense of pride she hand never felt before. She was proud she made Ben determined, and was determined to prove to her love that she was worthy of his determination.

Ben had glimpsed into Gwen's emerald eyes with his own jade eyes and saw that she was determined to win, that she would prove that she was still his better. He felt a swell of joy in his chest, though he didn't show it, that she was still the same tomboy 'I'm gonna show you I'm better than you, doofus' girl he fell in love with.

After sizing each other out, Gwen levitated herself off the ground and shot at Ben with blinding speed as he ran at her on all fours. Gwen used her **Chrysalis Formatus** spell to collect frost energies into her arms and formed it into twin arm blades. Ben began collecting** Shadow Energy** until it engulfed his entire right claw. Once he had enough, he jumped into the air, his right claw reared back as he cried, "**SHADOW LAZER CLAW!**"

Gwen had seen this and jumped at him and swung her arms into a crisscross fashion once again as she screamed, "Eat THIS!"

Ben's claw caught Gwen's frozen arm blades in mid-swing. Their faces inched closer to each other until they were mere inches away. Both cousins/lovers/rivals had stern looks on their faces that said, "I'm gonna win this, NOT you!"

As they hit the ground, both cousins jumped away from each other in an attempt to gain more ground on each other.

It was then that Ben made his move. He gathered all of the **Shadow Energy** he could gather without going overboard and dashed at Gwen. Just before he reached her, however, he twisted his body until it began to spin in a tornado like fashion, his arms pointing outward as he spun and cried out, "**SHADOW SCREW!**"

Gwen barely saw this move coming and jumped over him in a somersault. Ben's heightened hearing enabled him to hear the dirt she kicked up when she jumped, so he knew she dodged his attack. He began to twist his body enough to where the **Shadow Screw** attack made a complete U-turn, headed for where Gwen would land, but alas, he was too late.

Gwen had already landed and performed a backflip over his rebound strike.

As soon as he went under her, Ben returned to his previous state as he landed on all fours. He had his left foot and claw in front of his face, his left leg bent slightly at the knee, his right claw was just under his right shoulder, and his right leg outstretched behind him. Ben's tail had been wagging the entire time. His heart was racing, not from the exertion, but from the excitement. He was having a blast, just like all the other times he fought her like this.

Gwen had gracefully landed on the balls of her toes as she crouched into a gymnastic-styled position. Her heart had been beating as fast as a hummingbird's for the entire duration of the fight. She could feel it in all of Ben's attacks that he was enjoying this as much as she was, but neither one's face would show it. She looked Ben in the eyes once again to see that the flame in them hadn't changed. Ben looked into Gwen's eyes to see her determination hadn't faltered one bit.

Then a silent message had been passed between the two:

"It's time!"

*End song*

*Play song Dive by BeforU

Ben had begun to gather as much** Shadow Energy** as his eleven year old Loboan/Human hybrid body could muster as it started a chain reaction. He felt his canines getting longer with each passing moment. His face began to stretch out more like a wolf's face, though only slightly. His claws became larger in comparison, roughly about twice their original size. The hair on his head had also changed. It grew to about his mid-back in length before it stuck up into spikes. His irises and pupils shrank in size, giving him a more feral stare. A crater about as big as he was formed under him as his transformation into his** Shadow Form** had finally finished.

Gwen had accumulated all of her mage energies and was emitting a beautiful sky blue aura that looked similar to flames around her slender, petite frame. Her eyes glowed pure neon blue as they shone with more brilliance than her own fiery aura did. Like Ben, a crater had formed under her as well, though not as large due to the mass and weight distribution. She had finally finished activating her **Hyper Mode**.

Ben and Gwen both stared at each other for a little longer before disappearing in a flash, only to appear elsewhere with Gwen's arms in a crisscross block and Ben's left foot connected to her arms.

They disappeared again to have Gwen's right fist miss his head as his right forearm was perpendicular to Gwen's own.

This kept up as both vanished and reappeared in different positions, each time their excitement being elicited more and more as they used attack after attack. In Gwen's opinion, it was poetry set into motion and written their bodies. To Ben, it was even better than becoming a hero using the Omnitrix. Heck, NONE of the aliens he could ever change into could do what he was doing right now, nor could they give him the excitement nor happiness he felt when he was fighting Gwen.

This was not to last, however…

They both knew they were reaching their limits, and that they had to finish this fight fast.

Both cousins/lovers had landed a good ways away from each other while facing each other down. Ben started to inhale as much air as he could, his abdomen shrinking in width and depth while his chest expanded to two times it's normal size as he somehow managed to call out, "**Howling**…"

Gwen had known that he was going to do that, so she started to collect all of the remaining energy that her** Hyper Mode** granted her into one final spell, condensing it into her hands as she moved them around in circles. The orb of pink energy increased in size as she called out, "**Draconic**…"

Ben had finally gathered enough air and released it from his mouth in the form of a green beam of sound and light as he screamed, "**BLAAAAASST!**" as it made it's way towards Gwen.

Gwen's own energy had finally been condensed enough so that she could release it. She brought both her arms around her right side and threw them forward as she yelled out, "**EMBROSIA!**" The pink blast took on the form of a serpent as it sailed towards Ben's own attack.

The kickback of both attacks caused the two cousins/lovers to go flying backwards into the ground as their attacks sped right for each other.

When the attacks collided, a grand explosion of green, pink, white, and every combination of the three colors took place.

The explosion lasted for a few minutes before it disappeared, leaving behind a crater that was as big as the explosion was.

Ben managed to get his bearings straightened out as he finally came to. He slowly got up, his joints, muscles and bones burning as he moved, panting heavily all the while. He felt that he had reverted back to his normal form some time ago, but ignored it for now as he walked around the crater to where Gwen was. He saw that his cousin/girlfriend wasn't moving and was tempted to run after her, despite his body's protests, but that temptation was soon sated as he saw her get up and walk towards her.

Gwen's body ached with so much pain. Each step she took seemed to be more and more strenuous on her legs, but she took it in stride as she walked closer and closer to her cousin/boyfriend.

When they finally met, both cousins were panting heavily as they gave each other stern looks before bursting into laughter. They laughed and they laughed and they laughed until Ben flung his left arm over Gwen's shoulders as she snaked her right arm around Ben's waist. Their laughter stopped, but the smiles on their faces never left. Ben spoke first by asking, "Hehe… How was that?"

Gwen replied with enhanced enthusiasm, "Oh my god, that was so much fun."

"Hey, did you count how long you were in **Hyper Mode**?"

"Yup, lasted 27 seconds. You?"

"28 in** Shadow Form**. I guess we're both improving, huh?"

"Yeah."

The dating cousins both released a small chuckle at this. When this whole summer vacation mess had started, neither of them knew this was in store for them, but if they could go back in time to re-live these past eight and a half months they would do everything they did all over again…

Just so they could be together like this.

Their faces began to lean in, flushed from the heat coming off each other. Their lips met in a sensational kiss that rivaled the very first one they had. The same electricity that had entered their bodies the first time and every time afterwards had re-ignited their burning passion for each other as their hearts once again beat in-synch with each other. Ben had snuck his right claw to the side of Gwen's face, planting it softly on her smooth, silky skin. Gwen had used her free hand that was hanging limply by her left side and gently held onto Ben's claw. Her tongue tried to like the bottom of Ben's lips, but he pulled back too soon. Gwen let out a moan of disappointment as they both panted, their lungs begging for air.

Ben had made a suggestion, "Let's continue this at home."

Gwen merely looked at him with a soft, loving look before muttering, "Home… Home is where the heart is… And my heart's with you."

Ben's clawed thumb brushed her cheek as he said, "I know, but we cannot stay out in this heat much longer… We'll suffer dehydration."

Gwen realized that once again, Ben was right. So she did the only thing she could do; nod in agreement.

Keeping their arms where they were, both cousins/lovers made their way into their cavernous home.

Once they made it back, they told Yenalda about their spar. She thanked them and told them that dinner was ready.

They finished their meal without a hitch. It turned out that dinner was roast coyote, which was better than it sounded. Ben had recently found out that, as a Loboan, he needed more meat than usual for humans. In fact, where he originally needed 10-12 servings of wheat, he now needed 10-12 servings of proteins and meat. He also needed 2-3 servings of fats and sugars. As for wheat…

Wheat was as bad for Loboans as sugar was for humans.

But that didn't mean she denied it from Ben completely.

On the way to their room, Ben had removed his shirt as it tended to annoy him while he slept. After they made it to their room, Ben and Gwen sat on Ben's futon, kissing each other yet again. Ben's claws slinked across the small of her back as Gwen brought her arms around Ben's neck, deepening the kiss and intensifying the passion that they had. Gwen had decided that now was her chance, but before she could do anything, something wet slid across her lips. She could tell it was Ben's tongue begging for entrance. She smirked as she opened her mouth, allowing his oral muscle to enter her cavity. As their tongues wrestled for dominance, a brand new feeling invaded their senses. They both began to feel as though they were in a hot tub, their bodies' heat intensifying every passing moment. Ben used his tongue to explore Gwen's mouth as she moaned into the kiss. She did the same to Ben's mouth, eliciting the same reaction from him. They felt as though they were on cloud nine, but alas, one thing leads to another as their lungs burned for oxygen.

They released each other's mouth, a thin bridge of saliva connecting them for a second or so before falling. They stared at each other in wonder and amazement, breathing heavily onto each other's lips. Ben had gotten a crazy idea, but one that was worth a shot.

"Hey, Angel?"

"Yeah, Wolfy?"

"Would you… mind… sleeping on my cot… with me?" Ben asked with apparent nervousness.

Gwen merely giggled and replied, "Yes, it would be my pleasure."

Ben smiled and laid him and Gwen down on their sides as he grabbed the covers and threw them over their bodies.

The cousins/lovers snuggled closer to each other as they allowed sleep to take hold, but before it did, Ben whispered into Gwen's ear, "Goodnight, my little angel. I love you so much." as he kissed her cheek.

Gwen had kissed his cheek as she whispered, "Goodnight, my wolf pup. I love you, too."

Sleep finally claimed them as their small, frail forms fell into a peaceful slumber.

AN: I hope I didn't do anything wrong with this chapter… Aw well, RnR.


	3. SPD Arc I

AN: Okay, Fanfic Peoples. I've been taking a residual rain check on updating this damnable thing and I'm finally coming back home!

Ben and Gwen: LET'S GET IT ON!

SK90: Yeah, I wanna see my OC in action.

Drago: God knows I could use it.

Vexents: Now hold up, we ain't even done the disclaimer yet. We can't go bargin' in without doing that first.

Lyoko: He's right, you know.

Ben and Gwen: Awwww…

SK90: Oh you've gotta be kidding me.

Drago: Even a blind man on MARS saw THAT one comin'. Heheheh.

SK90: Quiet you! I made you, and I can erase you!

Lyoko: But then you lose your only link to this fanfic.

SK90: Damn…

Lyoko: *whispers to SK90* Don't worry. If he gives ya too much trouble, I can always write him in an embarrassing situation.

SK90: *whispers back to Lyoko* Thanks.

Ben and Gwen: Lyoko Barbossa and sayianking90 do NOT own Ben 10 or Power Rangers; Man of Action and Hasbro, respectively, does.

Drago: Sayianking90 does, however, own me.

Vexents: And Lyoko Barbossa owns me… Oh your kidding me, that's ALL I say? Two lines!

Lyoko: Okay, I'll give you another line or two.

Vexents: Thanks.

Lyoko: There ya go, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Vexents: Wait, wha-

PS: One more thing I forgot:

Legend:

"Yo, what's up!" - Speaking

'Idiot…' - Thinking

"_At least I got ahold of SOMEONE competent…" _- Hologram Speaking

_Dear Ben, I love you./Space Patrol Delta/I am Sporadic Movement _- Letter/Ranger Related Subjects/Lyrics (if I get them)

**Strike: Shadow Claw** - Attack

"SPD Emergency!" - Transformation

"**I will rip you TO SHREDS!**" - Second Form Drago/Feral Ben Speaking

"_**That look… I HATE that look**_" - Second Form Drago/Feral Ben Thinking

*BLAM!/*Play Song - Sound effects/Song Cues

**Unknown Opponents: Reveal Your True Power**

*BEEP!

*BEEP!

*BEEP!

*BEEP!

*BEE - click!

Gwen had heard the alarm clock, reached over to it, and hit the snooze button to shut it off. She then snuggled further into the comfortingly warm and fuzzy chest of her cousin/lover with his right arm draped over the small of her back as she drifted back to sleep…

Or she would have had it not been for Ben's moan as he started to stir from his slumber. He stopped for a second before moaning again, confirming that he was waking up.

"Mmmm… 's it mornin' already?" Ben asked.

Gwen giggled at this before confirming that it was morning. Ben looked at Gwen with wide, hopeful eyes before asking, "Last night wasn't a dream, was it?"

Gwen shook her head with a small smile playing on her face before saying, "No, Ben, it wasn't a dream."

Ben's eyes became caring and loving while a smile of his own appeared on his face. He looked into her eyes for a moment before saying, "That's a relief."

Gwen looked at him in confusion before asking why.

Ben merely shook his head and replied, "If it WAS a dream, then I'd probably never wake up this early."

The cousins/lovers shared a laugh before snuggling back into each other. They stayed that way for the whole of five minutes before they heard a noise…

Two noises…

*Grrrrrrglglglglglgl

Both cousins blushed madly as they realized that the sounds were their own stomachs. Being the first to recover, Gwen sat up, leaning on her left elbow whilst her right hand was gently on Ben's furry chest.

"Maybe we should… look for something to eat first, huh?" she suggested, though it was more like a question than a suggestion.

Ben merely nodded in agreement before motioning to stand up, the covers dropping at his frame's change in height. Gwen did the same thing. When they were both on their feet, the two cousins/lovers stretched their bodies before going to find something to eat.

They scoured their cavernous home until they found the dining area. It was not much to look at; a round table capable of seating four people comfortably with an equal number of chairs surrounding it, a small hole in the cave floor that serves as a fire pit with a griddle over it and some firewood right next to it, a microwave oven over on a rectangle table off to the other side of the room, and a refrigerator next to the rectangle table. Max and Wes had installed a self-producing energy generator into the fridge and microwave oven so that they can be used without fear of running out of power. Only downside is they only had enough tech to build two and neither generator could run more than one thing at a time. This, of course, caused some disappointment in Ben and Gwen, but they accepted the limitations and were glad to have a way to store food as well as cook some of the instant food.

Ben offered to check the fridge for any food that's left over. Gwen agrees with the stipulation that she go with him anyway.

"You're not the only one that's hungry, Benny." was Gwen's reasoning.

Ben couldn't argue with that logic, and made his way to the fridge; Gwen hot on his heels. When Ben opened the door, the hungry cousins were both shocked at the sight that greeted them.

"The fridge is empty!" Ben exclaimed. It was true… almost. The refrigerator was indeed void of any edible sustenance. All that was in it was a carton of soy milk and a few cans of soda.

No food.

Gwen's shocked expression changed to one of critical thought as she contemplated what she had just seen before she made a suggestion.

"Maybe there's something in the freezer compartment? Check it out."

Ben eagerly complied, having forgotten about the freezer. He closed the open door of the fridge and opened the freezer, only to be greeted to nothing but a few ice trays and…

"A frozen washcloth?" Ben asked, grabbing said washcloth in his clawed hand. Gwen instantly snatched the frozen cloth out of his hand, giggled in embarrassment and said, "So that's where that thing was…" She released one more giggle before putting the washcloth back in the freezer and closing the door.

"Well, there goes our chances of eating…" Ben complained.

"Maybe we can ask Aunt Yenalda if she has any spare rice balls?" Gwen offered a reprise for her earlier misjudgment.

"Nah, mom would have put them in the fridge for a later time."

"Speaking of which… Where is she?"

That was the million dollar question on the kissing cousins' minds.

~A few hours earlier~

Vexents's P.o.V.

"WHAT! Whadaya mean 'we can't engage them'?"

Ugh… poor Drag-queen. He was positively livid to say the least. I'd hate to be in the shoes of his next unsuspecting victim of one of his bull rants…

"_As I have said before, Drago, you are NOT to engage Benjamin and Gwendolyn Tennyson in any way until I arrive, which will be within a couple of hours."_ was the reply of the holographic Doggie Kruger's head. Even as a hologram, that Loboan can give off the creepiest vibes.

Drago was still seething in rage, his teeth gritting under that facemask of his, but he swallowed his pride and nodded in understanding.

"_Good. Now then, on with the next topic: How to convince them to do their best?_"

Oi yoi yoi, if that had been the final question of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, oh man, I would SO win that.

"Why not make them think we're the bad guys? Y'know, kidnap someone precious from them right under their noses? That always ticks off the heroes, and Ben HAS shown more aggression when he thinks someone precious to him is in danger. Take the latest fight between him and Vilgax for example. Every time Vilgax threatened either Gwen or Maxwell, Ben became more ferocious, and, needless to say, Vilgax was left in casts for the next few months."

The shocked look on Drag-queen was worth that long winded speech, but I never thought Doggie would so much as bat an eyebrow to it, or what looks like where an eyebrow should be…

"_That might have actually worked had it not been for two problems._

_1: Maxwell Tennyson is currently not within the vicinity, and therefore, is not an acquirable target._

_And 2: The only other person we could attempt to kidnap, Yenalda Kruger, is more than capable of fending you two off without your final forms._"

Then I saw a glint in Drag-queen's eye as his shocked expression turned into one of pure malicious mischief.

Oh boy… I feel sorry for the poor sucker what gets stuck in HIS prank…

"Just get here as fast as you can, sir. I have it figured out, but I'm not going to divulge any information over this transmission." he said with the same maliciousness in his voice that his face showed.

"_Very well, Drago. Maintain communication silence until I arrive. Anubis Kruger: Out!_"

And the hologram flickered away in a blink of an eye. Drago put the communicator down onto the ground and sat on a nearby rock. Oh man, I was honestly scared about what he had planned, so I tried to drill some info out of him.

"So what's the plan?"

"I ain't tellin' you 'til Commander Kruger gets here… I don't like to repeat myself."

Oh of ALL the RIDICULOUS…

"FINE! Be that way… but you are SO not getting your dango when we get back…"

"T'ch, whatever… little baby…"

~Two hours later~

Aaaaaaaaaah, kuso(1)...

Doggie ain't here yet…

I looked down at my gloved left hand and moved the wrist part up a bit so I could see the time on my watch…

"6:30 am… They'll wake up soon…" I whispered, but it was loud enough for Drag-Queen to hear…

Him and his dragon ears… Those damnable things will be the end of him, one day.

My attention then got changed to the tattoo on my left forearm… The last present I received from my otou-san and kaa-san(2)…

The tattoo of the kanji for king…

It's the last reminder of what I had…

Of what I had lost…

Of what I had gained…

And of what is yet to come…

But no point in dwelling on the past now.

I hear a vehicle approaching from my 3:25, and recognize it almost immediately as the jeep that _Squad _S and Doggie use to get around planet side when the transporter is either too risky or broke.

Something told me that using the transporter would have been too risky.

"Oh VEXY! Sorry for coming so late, but the damn transmodulator circuit on the transporter fried itself again." a red headed girl shouted at me.

Or not… Much to my chagrin.

Before the _Squad S Pink Ranger_, Sally I think her name was…?

Maybe it was Sammy…?

Or was it Kelly?

Maybe Shelly?

…

I dunno, I keep forgetting. Not because I have bad memory, mind you, but because I'm TRYING to forget her name - GAH CRAP going off topic here.

Anyway, before she continued speaking, she tackled me into the ground and rubbed her face into mine.

"But the long trip here was SO worth it cause NOW I'm back with my good ol' Vexy again!"

Oh god, I hate her so much…

Then I saw a long green pole slam into the back of her head with a loud thwack. As the pole made contact, I heard a feminine cry of "GET OFF HIM, SAVANNA, YOU HENTAI BAKA!"

Savanna! That's her name: Savanna. I remember now.

…

…

GACK! It took me MONTHS to forget her name! Now I have to start all over again…

Oh, ahem, anyway…

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the force used for that hit would have crushed that pole into either splinters or shards.

But I did know better.

It belonged to the _Squad S Green Ranger_, Eliza. She was a gorgeous Sun-kissed Blondie with hair that could, if let down, reached her ankles. She had her hair in twin pig-tails with blue bows holding them in place. She had brilliant cerulean eyes that gave off a feel of the ocean, and her skin? Her skin was just as sun-kissed as her hair; tanned to the point to where it could be qualified as golden peach. Her body had a slender hourglass frame to it.

But the only thing that kept me from glomping her right now was the killer intent that she was releasing.

Holy shit, I think I see Drago quaking over where he's at.

"Girls, ENOUGH!" barked (no pun intended) Doggie.

Eliza and Sav - Whoops, almost said her name again - I mean, the red head both stood at attention before falling back to formation.

"Now I am sure you all know why you are here?" the commander asked.

"To ensssure your sssafety isss our number one priority and to ensssure no harm comesss to you." said the snake-tongued Orochidian.

"That was not what I meant, Basillix. You are gathered here to witness two new recruits unlike any other come into _SPD_."

"What be so special 'bout deese two dat we don' be havin' already, mon?" was the 30+ year old man with his black hair in dread-locks.

"Yeah, whada these two got that we don' got?" was the reply of a man around mid 20 with blond hair that was styled like Elvis.

"Unlike most of you, one of them is a blood relative of mine; a Loboan family relative that has escaped me for so long yet has shown great potential as an _SPD Ranger_."

"So you're *gasp Going to give *gasp This relative of yours *gasp The initiation test *gasp Just because he *gasp Is related to you? *gasp" was the Aqua-Mipedian's reply. He was using a re-breather because Aqua-Mipedians cannot survive above water without one.

"Under most circumstances, I would not give them the initiation test at all if they were related to me, but here is why I am giving it to him: He has the Omnitrix."

At this, everyone but me and drag-queen gasp. They apparently knew what the Omnitrix was, but didn't know Ben had it.

Then Mr. Dread - that's the name I gave the dude with the dread-locks - asked, "But what about da uder one? What about him?"

Uh oh, bad choice in gender.

"'She' is my nephew's cousin, and, most recently, his lover. She has fought alongside my nephew and kept up with him all the while. She shows expert skill in the mystic arts of my people."

"Sssorry, sssir, but if I may ssspeak ssso boldly?" the Orochidian asked.

"Permission granted."

"Ssshe wouldn't happen to be your daughter, would ssshe?"

"A very observed guess, but no. She is not a direct blood relative to me, but she is to my nephew being his uncle's daughter."

"As I was saying, these two are to be given an initiation examination by my personal apprentice, Drago Flame, and his temporary partner, Vexents."

"SHANNARO!(3)"

"T'ch, finally."

"However, there is still a hitch in the plan… How best to size their abilities and how to convince them to fight at their best…"

Oh man, that was the million dollar question of the day. Everyone shrugged their shoulders. Not ONE of us knew what to do.

However, an answer came to me out of the corner of my eye.

Yenalda was walking out of the cave.

"Hey everyone! I got an idea!"

~Present Time~

Back with Ben and Gwen

As Gwen finished that question, Ben sniffed the air to find her scent, only to realize that it was too weak.

"Seems like she's been gone a while."

"Really?" Gwen asked with concern written all over her face.

Ben grimly nodded at her one-word questionnaire, confirming her suspicions. "Well, where do you think she could have gone?"

"Well, judging by the empty fridge, I'd say she went out grocery shopping." Ben replied with a shrug.

"That's kinda obvious… Even for an idiot…"

"What? You think she got kidnapped or something?"

Gwen shrugs her shoulders in bewilderment at this before replying, "Eh, could have been. Then again, there are no signs of a struggle."

~30 minutes ago~

Drago's P.o.V.

"This…

Is…

Stupid…"

"There is NO f$ing way that those two will fall for that…"

That f!ing cockweed smoking sonic chicken was wearing that same, stupid mask he made last Hallow's End. (Halloween for Terrans.)

Personally…

I find that f!ing sh!tty mask of his offensive.

I mean if you didn't take the f!ing time to actually observe the sh!tty thing, you'd swear it was a dragon mask.

…

I swear, that f!tard made that mask just to f!ing smite me…

Then he HAD to go and talk…

"Of course they will, Drag-queen," typical of the f!ing moron…

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because Doggie -"

"Anubis… I get SO f!ing sick and tired of you calling him 'Doggie'. If you're gonna call him something, call him either Commander, Sir, or his birth name, ya roadrunner…"

Hahaha, idiot can't resist saying something to spite that.

"Aaaaaaaaanyway… Doggie's going to distract Yenalda for a while, which is more than enough time to drag the two out in the open, away from bystanders, and convince them to do their best to try and hurt and/or kill us."

…

My f!ing god, he just resisted…

"Who are you and what have you done to Vexents." I tried to make myself sound threatening, which is fairly easy for me.

However, it f!ing failed…

He was laughing.

"What's so f!ing funny!" I demanded, but he held his hand up to me and continued laughing, holding some kind of container.

"Haha… lau - haHAha… laug - hehehe… LAUGHING GAS AH HAHAHAHAHA!"

I was confused at his response and attempted to get closer when the f!tard stepped back.

"No no - hahaha - Stay baHAhahahaHAck… You'll get caugh - hahaha - t too. BAH HAHAHAHAHA!"

At that, I decided it'd be best to take the moron's advice for once. He chucked the container somewhere random as we ran from it, with him laughing his ever loving muthaf!ing $$ off.

~Present Time~

Back with Ben and Gwen

"Your right, but we still need to check around the cave for ANY signs of distress." Ben said sternly.

Gwen raised an eyebrow and made a smirk appear on her face as she asked, "When did you become smart and in-charge?"

"An upside of being your boyfriend. You've changed me in more ways than one, Gwen."

Gwen's previous facial features were replaced with a pair of eyes that held awe and adoration as a smile formed on her face.

"Awwww, really?"

"Yeah, and I'd rather be someone you helped to mold than someone you were forced to be with."

A small blush found it's way to her face as she found her left shoulder interesting.

"Ben, stop it… You're making me blush."

Ben approached his cousin/lover before placing a clawed finger under her chin and pointing it so that the two were face-to-face.

"So? You're cute when you blush." Ben said in the sweetest tone Gwen had ever heard.

"Oh, Ben…"

They were leaning in for a kiss until a thought ran through their minds.

Yenalda was still missing.

Both cousins/lovers quickly separated from each other's personal space. Gwen was the first to recover from their incident and said, "Maybe we should try to track her scent?"

*Play Dark Samus Appears from Metroid Prime II

Ben more than willingly agreed with her and began to sniff the air, tracking his mother's scent.

The scent lead them to the entrance of the cave where he caught a whiff of three different scents:

One human-like.

One seemingly reptilian.

(Drago: OI! I'm NOT a REPTILE: I'm a DRAGOON!

Lyoko: Oh, pipe down! Ben doesn't know what a dragoon is!

Drago: Aw hell, whoops. Sorry.)

And an unusual, yet faintly familiar third scent. It was a combination of burning rubber, roach spray, and hairspray.

At that third scent, Ben cringed mercilessly as it hit his olfactory organ. He tried to clench his nose shut before anymore of the protruding scent got in; and failing at it miserably.

Gwen saw his reaction and ran to him. She put her left hand on his back and her right on his right arm before asking, "Ben, what's wrong?"

Ben, nose still clenched and voice somewhat nasally, responded with, "Man, I just got the worst smell I ever smelled stuck in my nose. Oh man… It'll take hours before that smell leaves my brain…"

Gwen was about to rebut with a "It couldn't have been THAT bad," but remembered her cousin/lover had a better sense of smell than her. So she left it alone and asked, "What did the scent smell like?"

"Like all kinds of things: Funky, gross, nasty. Take your pick."

Gwen decided to look around for the source, but found nothing but sand, rocks, and a cactus or two.

*End song*

"Well, I don't see what could be ma-AHHH!" Gwen had slipped on something, kicking Ben in his right shin in the process. Ben slightly winced at the pain, but his main priority was keeping his cousin/girlfriend from hitting the ground.

With amazing speed, he knelt down and caught Gwen with his right arm cradling her shoulders and his left arm wrapped around her waist. Ben held a look of deep concern for Gwen's well-being while Gwen had a slightly awed and confused look on her face. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Ben asked, "Are you alright, Gwen?"

"Yeah, I just… stepped on something smooth and slippery. The next thing I know, I'm in your arms… Again." Gwen said in a somewhat disappointed tone.

Ben caught on to this, and brought his left clawed hand to his chin; stroking it as if in deep thought. Then he somehow, with blinding speed, swapped their positions so that Gwen was now holding Ben.

"There. Better?"

Gwen giggled at her new position with an adorable smile (in Ben's eyes) adorning itself to her face. She then leaned down to Ben's face and planted a small peck on his lips before saying, "In a way… Yes. It means you're trying to make me feel better, and I like it."

Ben smiled at this, but the smile didn't last long as he looked around to find what Gwen had tripped on. He spotted something round and shiny by his feet, which happened to be where Gwen's feet were. He got up and out of Gwen's arms and reached for the disk, but before he could touch it, Gwen stopped him.

"Ben, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to pick up what may be a clue as to where mom is." was Ben's reply.

"Are you sure that's what that is? How do you know it's not a trap?" Gwen asked with pure worry in her voice.

Ben picked up on this. He brought his left hand up and planted it softly on Gwen's right shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'm a hero. And more importantly, I'm your boyfriend. I have the perfect reason to come back alive."

At this, Gwen's face blushed with renewed strength while she simply stared at her cousin/boyfriend. She merely gulped slightly and nodded her approval of Ben's reasoning and actions.

As she did this, Ben also gave a nod of approval to her before turning to the device/Frisbee disk and reaching for it.

Closer and closer his hand got to the disk.

Gwen clenched her hands into fists and brought them both to her face, as if to block a punch; fear somewhat evident in her face.

Ben licked his top lip, keeping his tongue out when it finished.

Inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, he got closer to the device.

Gwen's brow started to sweat a little.

Ben, due to sweat glands, started to pant slightly.

Finally, his claw touched the device, but instead of being able to grab it…

It sprang to life.

*Resume previous song

Literally…

It jumped up into the air, causing Ben to fall back onto his bum, nearly avoiding the breaking of his tail bones in the process.

Gwen was also startled by this turn of events.

The disk was now floating a couple of feet off the ground, wobbling to and fro very slightly.

The cousins/lovers looked on at the disk, intrigued at how it stays up.

That intrigue became much more as the disk began to spin.

It started out slowly at first, but then it got faster…

And faster…

And faster…

And faster…

Soon enough, it was spinning as fast as a buzz saw blade. Both cousins/lovers were worried this thing might fly at them and cut their heads off.

But their worries were disproved as the disk's panels surrounding the center gem opened up into what seemed to be a satellite dish. Then a cone of green light, barely even a foot in height, shot out of the gem.

Shortly after, a holographic image of something… Odd… to the couple appeared.

It appeared to be a crocodile head, a misshapen one at that, wearing a crown of sorts. The crown itself was plain and simple; eight points coming out of the base of the crown, each point with a small round spheres no bigger than the head of a pin at the tip, all in plain gold. The head was confusing…

It had a short, fat snout that ended in a rounded tip. There were a few stray teeth coming out of the top jaw that made it look both intimidating and ridiculous at the same time. The eyes, however, were by far the oddest part of the gator being. One eye was what appeared to be a neon blue about the size of a ping pong ball while the other, the size of a tennis ball, was littered with veins and the iris was completely missing. The pupil was still there, but the iris was gone.

The thing was just… staring right at Ben and Gwen as if it was looking right through them.

Before either of them could move, the image spoke to them in a low, almost growling tone.

"_Greetings, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson and Gwendolyn 'Gwen' Tennyson…_"

As it said their names, both Ben and Gwen release a gasp of shock. Ben's the first to break out of the initial shock and asks, "How do you know our names?"

"_This is merely a pre-recorded message, but if you asked how I know your names… hehe… Let's just say that word of 'The Great Ben 10' has reached even MY backwater system. The greatest hero of all time, even. And as for your cousin? Let's just say word gets out fast. Hahahahahahaha!_"

"You sick freak! If you touch one hand… er - claw, or… tentacle…" Ben started out strong, but became confused after he began.

"Ah screw it, you so much as TOUCH Gwen, I'll rip you to shreds!"

"_If you have just made some… pathetic comeback, I'd like to see you try it. Now then, onto business… You see, your mother has VITAL information that the black market would pay in the trillions to obtain. A deal like THAT is impassable for someone of MY grand stature. And if you assume that I am some common thief, crook, or hunter, then you, my children, are most certainly wrong._"

Both cousins/lovers were stumped. How on earth did this thing know what they were going to ask before they did?

"_I am what most people, aliens and humans alike, consider as the worst being to ever exist: a tyrant. And do you know what tyrants crave? Money, power, glory, status: ALL of it! We desire it all. We DEMAND it all! And the information stored in your mother's head is JUST what I want… Not that the information itself is of any use to me, but the more money I have, the better. Hehehehahahaha._"

"You bastard! EEP! Did I just say that?"

"Gwen, if there was EVER a time to say that word, it'd be now."

"_However, I am not a ruler without mercy or honor. I will keep Yenalda with my two most faithful and powerful servants on your planet. They will meet you at these co-ordinates. Oh, and before I forget, you can call me King Kae Rool. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!_"

And with that, the image of the croc king, or as they NOW know him, King Kae Rool, disappeared and a hologram of the nearby area with two blipping orange dots to the southeast of their current position, marked by two blue blips, appeared in his place.

Both cousins/lovers looked at the map, then to each other, then back to the map for a few moments, then back to each other again.

"Well… If we're gonna get ANY kind of answer as to where mom is, we need to go where those orange dots are." Ben said.

"Those are blips, Benny. And although I agree with you, how do we know it's a trap?"

"Simple: we don't."

At this, Gwen smirked. 'At least he didn't change entirely these past six months.' were her thoughts.

"But anything worth it's value is worth fighting for. Someone very special to me once told me that." Ben continued.

Gwen's smirk was replaced with a shocked expression as she heard him say that. 'He remembered!'

"You remembered that?"

"Remembered? Angel, I know that by heart because of who you are to me. When you first told me that, I thought it was just some stupid line that sounded cool to say at times, but each time you got into danger, that line was all I could think about. You are worth MORE than your value. You are MORE than worth fighting for. You're the most precious person in my life, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and alive." At this, Ben grabbed one of Gwen's hands in both of his and cupped it with his right hand before continuing, "Even if it means taking a bullet to the head. There are also other people worth their value and then some in my life, but you're the most precious to me. And right now, one of those others worth more than their value, my mom, is in danger and needs a pair of heroes to save her. So, you ready?"

'He's certainly learned how to motivate someone.' "Okay, I'm ready!"

The both of them got up on their feet. With the map in hand, Ben and Gwen began the trek to save Yenalda…

Although… it would seem Yenalda doesn't really need saving.

~Elsewhere~

A few minutes earlier

"I don't CARE what's going on, I have two kids to feed! If you don't give me SOMETHING for them to eat, then I WILL give you something to worry about!"

For lack of a better term, Yenalda was pissed.

She had just gotten to Wes's place to try and get some food for her son and her niece/his mate, but when she got there, she saw that Wes was outside, waiting on something.

At first, she had assumed it was supplies, but as she asked for food, she'd gotten the answer to the wrong question.

It would seem that one of the supply trucks drove into a ditch… A very deep ditch.

During the accident, one of the wheels' hub caps flew off, somehow slipping in between the two rear tires in a way that it was bent, broken, and flung into one of the tires. Needless to say, the tires all popped.

The only good thing was that no one got hurt; the trucker had apparently taken a more secretive road through the Navajo Desert, and was the only vehicle in sight.

But Yenalda could care less about that; She wanted to get some food for her pup and his mate-to-be, and she would do whatever it took to get something for them: even rob the nearby butchery of it's meats.

But before she could even devise a way of doing so, she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

No… It wasn't a hand…

It was a claw.

As soon as she saw it, her reflexes kicked in as she made a grab for the throat of whoever owned that claw, but when she turned around, the face she saw was not one she was expecting to see…

Or wanting to see for that matter.

She turned around to see a male Loboan wearing a peculiar black overcoat which had a badge shape with a dog on it and SPD under it. The overcoat also had red lines across it in a Y-shaped pattern.

He wore black combat boots with red laces and his pants were pure black.

"Hello…

Sister."

"Anubis…" Yenalda said darkly with a low growl at the end for emphasis on how ticked she was at seeing him.

Anubis simply folded his arms behind his back as he stood at ease. "It's been a while, Yenalda."

"Not long enough, you scrowterrrg…(4) What do you want?"

Anubis shrugged defensively at her voice and replied, "Can't a brother try to catch up with his sister? After all, it HAS been years since we last saw each other."

Inadvertently slashing at him, Yenalda screamed out, "I DON'T CARE! I swore to myself on the day I left Luna Loboa I'd NEVER see your face EVER AGAIN, YOU MONSTER!"

Anubis cringed at the ferocity of his sister's declaration. Yenalda saw it in Anubis's facial features and body language that he was honestly hurt by her sudden outburst and was shocked, but he did not show it.

She REFUSED to show it.

This had been the very Loboan that had ruined her life on Luna Loboa, and she was not about to take any chance of being sent back there for insubordination; or worse: treason.

Her brother's reply, however, forced her to show her shock for a little while.

"Well, Yenalda, if that's the way you feel, I guess I have no choice but to take it… I have changed, you know; and for the better I might add. I'm a respectable person…"

"What do you mean 'respectable person'? You're the Dark Overseer(5)!"

"True, that used to be me, but not anymore. I passed that title to someone else."

This response had truly left Yenalda off balance as she showed her shock once more before asking. "Then, you really DID come just to visit me?"

"Well, not JUST you, but you ARE the first name on my list."

Yenalda became suspicious at this and asked, "Who else are you going to visit?"

"In due time, Yenna…"

Yenna; a name she had not heard since she left Carl; a name she had not heard her brother call her since he became the Dark Overseer. She suddenly found the ground interesting as she thought, 'Maybe he's telling the truth… Maybe he really HAS changed?'

As she was thinking this, Anubis walked up to her while she was looking at the ground. He looked at her for a moment, before bringing his right claw out, and doing something no smart person would ever do to her… Something so severe, so perverse, that if done at all will cause Yenalda to go all but on a rampage…

He poked her ear… Hard…

"OW!"

"Heheh… told ya I changed."

'Oh Grand Overseer(6)… My brother's back! He's REALLY back!' "You little TWERP!"

*Play Benny Hill theme

As she said that, she gave chase to the Loboan that had poked her ear. When she and Anubis were children, he would constantly poke her ear either to ask for something or simply just for fun, and then she'd chase him around. This was exactly like he was supposed to be before he became Overseer.

As they leapt from rooftop to rooftop, inadvertently scaring a few of the villagers, a group of five shadows watched the scene in sheer awe.

One of the shadows began to talk.

"Don't joo dink we should be helping' him, mon?"

"No, you ssstupid fool, our ordersss are to prevent any outssside interferenccce."

"I just pray to kami(7) Commander Kruger doesn't get killed." one of the two feminine shadows added.

A Brooklyn accent responded, "Hey, no worries. Boss man's gonna be just fine." as he patted the previous speaker's back.

Anubis looked back at his assailant and called back, "By the way, when am I gonna meet my nephew!"

*End song*

At this, Yenalda ceased her pursuit.

~Back to Ben and Gwen~

The twin cousins/lovers had been trudging the desert for about 15 minutes, but they acted and moved as if they had just started. They had learned how to conserve energy when traveling through the desert from Yenalda, who herself had to learn the hard way. Even with all that was at stake, Ben and Gwen were both hand in hand, neither one letting go of the other. Ben had a stern look on his face as he walked, while every now and then checking the map to see if they were heading in the right direction. Gwen's own face, however, showed a fusion of anger and concern. He was angry that her aunt, 'Benny's' mom, had been kidnapped, and concerned for not only Yenalda's but Ben's safety as well. She looked over at aforementioned cousin/boyfriend to see he was looking at the map.

Ben felt that a pair of eyes were upon him, and he looked over to his cousin/girlfriend to see she had a mixed facial expression, but he could tell she was more worried than anything and what she was worried about. Ben slipped the map into his pocket, pulled the hand that had been holding Gwen's up to shoulder height, and placed his free hand onto Gwen's hand, cupping it ever so lightly.

"Don't worry, Gwen, everything's gonna be fine. Mom's not gonna die that easily." Ben said in a caring, sincere voice. Gwen knew he meant well, but Yenalda was only half of her concern.

"It's not just Yenalda I'm worried about…" was all she could get out before Ben spoke.

"I know, you're also worried about me." As he said this, a small, tender smile graced his lips. Gwen felt her lips tug into a smile of their own, proving the age old theory that a smile IS contagious.

"Gwen, I promise you, I'll always return to you, alive and in one piece, and we can continue our lives as if nothing ever happened."

He was only half wrong as he continued.

He gently squeezed Gwen's hand as if to prove his point, and continued.

"And besides, I swore to myself and you that we could have a peaceful life together when we get older; No going hero, no doing dangerous stunts, and most importantly, no fighting. You said it yourself that we deserve it."

Gwen blushed and found the ground interesting, the smile on her face never leaving. "Of course I said that," she began, "because it's true; we deserve a peaceful life without fear of one of our enemies popping out of nowhere and trying to kill us for revenge or something." She giggled as she said that. "Also, it'll give us enough time to settle down and maybe start a family together… but…"

Ben noticed that Gwen had that distant worried look on her face that tugged at his heartstrings. He felt guilty and decided that asking her would be best.

"Something wrong, Angel?"

Gwen looked back at Ben with a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head with her free hand before asking, "How does three litters sound?"

At this, Ben promptly face faulted. 'That was so not what I was expecting…' he thought to himself before saying with a small chuckle, "Is that what you were worried about? You know I'm willing to give you whatever you want."

At this, Gwen felt a pang of guilt grip her heart. She knew he would hold true to that. "Wolfy, you know that it's as much your decision as it is mine, so I wanna hear your opinion, too."

Ben felt honored at hearing that, but he wanted to make sure she knew what he really felt. "Honestly, Gwenny, I don't care if we have one pup or a million litters of pups!" Gwen giggled at his remark. "Or even no pups at all. As long as you're happy, or I've made you happy, I'm happy. "

To say that the young redhead was touched at Ben's declaration was an understatement. She felt as if she fell in love with him all over again. "Ben…" she began, tears of joy swelling in her eyes begging to be released. She felt them fall freely as she looked Ben in the eyes with another of her, in Ben's opinion, perfectly beautiful smiles before she continued. "That's the second sweetest thing - you have ever said to me."

At this, Ben skewed an eyebrow at her and tilted his head. "Huh? Second…" the hybrid Human/Loboan said dejectedly. The disappointment in his voice was evident, but Gwen ignored it as he asked, "What was the first?"

'Still as dense as ever… Hehe, I hope that doesn't change.' she thought. She freed her hand from Ben's clawed grasp and wrapped her arms around his neck so tenderly. Then she finally answered, "When you said 'I love you' for the first time." as she leaned in to give Ben a kiss, stalling to let the feel of his lips against hers linger for a moment, before pulling away. As she did this, Ben slithered his arms around Gwen's waist, interlocking his clawed fingers, and leaning into the kiss. He was slightly disappointed at her pulling away, but he knew they had a job to do.

He checked the map to find that they were almost directly on top of the two people Kae Rool had told them about, and though he didn't see anyone, he could smell the same scent he did before.

One human, and one reptilian…

"Gwen, we're here. Be ready for anything." he told Gwen, to which she nodded, before yelling out.

"ALRIGHT, I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, YOU COWARDS! COME OUT AND FACE US!"

*Play Mega Man X3 OST-RA, T26: Boss (Intro)

As soon as he was done, a twister of sorts started forming. Ben and Gwen both attempted to block out as much sand as possible. After several seconds, the twister formed into a full blown tornado as it approached them.

Ben used his enhanced sight to see through the sands and his squinted eyes to make out a single figure actually walking INSIDE the tornado as if it wasn't even there.

The figure stopped moving towards them. As said figure stopped, just as suddenly as it began, the tornado disappeared, revealing two boys no older than either Ben nor Gwen were as they looked on. One of the two boys was in air, as if he was jumping like a chimp, but landed with his right foot slightly in front of his left one, his left arm behind his back in a political fashion, and his right hand formed a fist as it slammed into his chest. He had combed back hair that was the same color as Ben used to have before all this mess started; auburn brown. His shirt was a blue T-shirt with a black, red-eyed dragon logo that was circling some dot with it's mouth open, as if to eat it. His pants were a Navy blue with a pair of zippers where the pockets would be. His shoes were bright, almost neon, red with white soles that seemed untouched by the sand and dirt with a single with stripe going perpendicular against each foot, his socks bunching up by the ankles. The boy wore blue gloves that had white fingers and a gold band around the wrist. The oddest thing about the boy was his eyes: his left eye had a vertical scar going down it and was cerulean blue while the right one was unblemished and was a scarlet, almost blood, red.

The other boy had gravity defying white hair. His eyes were both an icy blue with small slits for pupils. He wore a black training gi with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, a red belt around his waste, black ninja pants, black fingerless gloves, a black mask that covered only from his nose down, and wooden sandals with red straps connecting them too his feet. The odd thing about THIS boy was the fact that his skin was pale, almost ghost-like, and seemed like scales. He was slouched slightly as he spread his legs with his left foot in front of his right, his elbows bent slightly and arms raised to give off a feel of how aggressive he would get should either cousin/lover make the wrong move. His icy eyes squinted so that they were almost closed as he stared hard at the two, grinning madly under his mask.

The first boy grinned darkly as he looked on at the two cousins/lovers with seemingly high arrogance. With a dark, cynical voice, he said, "Ah… At last, we finally meet face to face…

Ben Tennyson."

As he finished, he silently cackled at the two shocked eleven year olds.

_To be continued…_

AN: OMG this one took TWO MONTHS to finish, I am SOOOOOOO sorry, my fans!

I got so much stuff to do and a lot of writer's block to fight through right now that I KNOW some of you fellow authors would feel for me. I hope you really enjoyed this chapter, though.

Please read and review.

Until next time: JA NE -

Vexents: Wait a sec! Aren't you forgetting something?

Lyoko: OH YEAH, RIGHT! The side notes:

1: Kuso = Fk

2: Otouto and Kaasan = Father and Mother (respectively)

3: Shannaro = no literal translation, but often translated as either "Hell Yeah!", "Hell No!", or "Take that!".

4: Scrowterrrg = Loboan for bastard (And yes I made it up)

5: Dark Overseer = Evil King for Lunar Loboa (again, made it up)

6: Grand Overseer = Celestial being or God for Loboa (again, made it up)

7: Kami = literally 'god' or 'celestial deity' (this one is real, people: look it up!)


	4. SPD Arc II A

AN: Sorry bout not updating this fanfic, guys; been suffering from family issues, college classes, etc… Alright! Now we've come to the second part of the SPD arc: the fight between the heroes and the… other… heroes…

Vexents: Oh just call us what we're supposed to be: the villains!

Drago: You know he can't do that because that's not who we are.

Vexents: We are in the cousin couple's eyes.

Drago: Yeah well, they're blinded by anger right no -

SK90: ALRIGHT, SHUT UP! *holds a bat with a nail running through it* Don't MAKE me use Lucy on you!

Vexents & Drago: … Okay, we shut up now!

SK90: *puts Lucy away* Good boys.

Lyoko: *sweats a little* Do you HAVE to do that?

SK90: Yes.

Lyoko: … Ooooooooooooooh kay… Well, as I was trying to say, we have finally made it to the fight portion of the SPD arc between the Main characters and the Side characters… How's that?

Vexents: *shrugs* Eh, it works.

Drago: That better be temporary…

Lyoko: Don't worry, it is. Back to the matter at hand. In this chapter, we have Ben facing off against Drago -

SK90: WOOT! Go, Drago!

Gwen: Ben, f! him up!

Lyoko: Okay, lots of tension going on here… I think we'd better do the disclaimer… Ben, if you will!

Ben: *inhales some air before being kicked upside the head by a flying Anko*

Anko: Neither sayainking90 nor LyokoBarbossa own Ben 10, Power Rangers, or Naruto, which is where I just came from. They are copyrighted properties of their respective owners. LyokoBarbossa and sayainking90 DO, however, own Vexents and Drago respectively. Now where did that flying dango go?

Legend:

"Yo, what's up!" - Speaking

'Idiot…' - Thinking

"_At least I got ahold of SOMEONE competent…" _- Hologram Speaking

_Dear Ben, I love you./Space Patrol Delta/I am Sporadic Movement _- Letter/Ranger Related Subjects/Lyrics (if I get them)

**Strike: Shadow Claw** - Attack

"SPD Emergency!" - Transformation

"**I will rip you TO SHREDS!**" - Second Form Drago/Feral Ben Speaking

'**That look… I HATE that look**' - Second Form Drago/Feral Ben Thinking

*BLAM!/*Play Song - Sound effects/Song Cues

_~Previously on "A New Adventure"~_

"_Gwen, we're here. Be ready for anything." he told Gwen, to which she nodded, before yelling out._

"_ALRIGHT, I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, YOU COWARDS! COME OUT AND FACE US!"_

_*Play Mega Man X3 OST-RA, T26: Boss (Intro)_

_As soon as he was done, a twister of sorts started forming. Ben and Gwen both attempted to block out as much sand as possible. After several seconds, the twister formed into a full blown tornado as it approached them._

_Ben used his enhanced sight to see through the sands and his squinted eyes to make out a single figure actually walking INSIDE the tornado as if it wasn't even there._

_The figure stopped moving towards them. As said figure stopped, just as suddenly as it began, the tornado disappeared, revealing two boys no older than either Ben nor Gwen were as they looked on. One of the two boys was in the air, as if he was jumping like a chimp, but landed with his right foot slightly in front of his left one, his left arm behind his back in a political fashion, and his right hand formed a fist as it slammed into his chest. He had combed back hair that was the same color as Ben used to have before all this mess started; auburn brown. His shirt was a blue T-shirt with a black, red-eyed dragon logo that was circling some dot with it's mouth open, as if to eat it. His pants were a Navy blue with a pair of zippers where the pockets would be. His shoes were bright, almost neon, red with white soles that seemed untouched by the sand and dirt with a single white stripe going perpendicular against each foot, his socks bunching up by the ankles. The boy wore blue gloves that had white fingers and a gold band around the wrist. The oddest thing about the boy was his eyes: his left eye had a vertical scar going down it and was cerulean blue while the right one was unblemished and was a scarlet, almost blood, red._

_The other boy had gravity defying white hair. His eyes were both an icy blue with small slits for pupils. He wore a black training gi with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, a red belt around his waist, black ninja pants, black fingerless gloves, a black mask that covered only from his nose down, and wooden sandals with red straps connecting them to his feet. The odd thing about THIS boy was the fact that his skin was pale, almost ghost-like, and seemed like scales. He was slouched slightly as he spread his legs with his left foot in front of his right, his elbows bent slightly and arms raised to give off a feel of how aggressive he would get should either cousin/lover make the wrong move. His icy eyes squinted so that they were almost closed as he stared hard at the two, grinning madly under his mask._

_The first boy grinned darkly as he looked on at the two cousins/lovers with seemingly high arrogance. With a dark, cynical voice, he said, "Ah… At last, we finally meet face to face…_

_Ben Tennyson."_

~_We now continue with "A New Adventure"~_

**Chapter 4: Stalking Wolf, Hidden Dragoon**

Both Ben and Gwen stared in shock at the brunette's proclamation. However, this was only brief as Ben's shock turned quickly to rage as he recovered.

"Alright, scumbags, talk! How do you know my name?" Ben asks growling "And where's my mom?" At this, the white haired boy started chuckling, then lightly cackling."Did you honestly think we would kidnap your mother and force you out here without doing our homework? I should rip that brain of yours out of your skull and clean it with steal wool because there seems to be a lot of trash in it!" he cackled again. Ben lightly growled at the boy and started to charge forward towards him when Gwen grabbed a hold of his arm forcing him to stop "Ben, calm down that's what he's trying to do: he wants us to lose our cool so that we'll make a mistake and fall for whatever there plan is." She then quickly glared at the two for an instant before she said to the white haired boy, "At least Ben's got a girlfriend, you homo!"

This made something snap in the white haired boy's mind as he emitted that same hissing growl from earlier. "Homo? HOMO - !"

"That's enough!" snapped the odd eyed boy.

This seemed to work as the hissing growl lowered a few decimals, before the brunette maliciously smiled and continued, "She'll get what's coming to her. After all, if I remember my villain tutorials, lesson 42 states that 'Any insult from a hero or sidekick must be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly; no matter the situation."

This made the white haired boy smirk under his mask before a thought struck him, but Ben beat him to the punch as he asked, "Wait, there are tutorials on how to be a villain?"

At this, Gwen promptly face faulted.

"Why of course there are, dear boy. After all, any great villain abides by these lessons. They are the foundations of villainy and tyranny to date. Now then, as for how we know your name, Ben: …

"Well…" the brunette started before he smirked evilly at the half-lycanthrope, "Let's just say your reputation precedes you." He snickered at this.

"Where is Aunt Yenalda!" Gwen called back.

"T'ch, according to lesson 69, "Villains are not to divulge information concerning a precious target of the hero/sidekick unless they are defeated in combat which, at that point, will be said target's time of demise." Most villains, however, ignore this rule, and just simply do as they see fit." the brunette explained with a cocky smirk.

"I swear if you touch a single strand of fur on my mom, I WILL RIP YOU TO RIBBONS AND HANG YOU UP ON MY CHRISTMAS TREE!" Ben threatened.

The white haired boy finally spoke again. "Hehehe, an empty threat from an empty 'hero'." he said, speaking the word 'hero' as if it was hard for him to comprehend the half-Loboan in front of him was one, before laughing madly at the sky. When he stopped, he looked at Ben with pure disgust and made a cold threat. "How 'bout I just slice your throat off right now? Maybe THAT'LL shut your trap, you mutt!"

At this, the brunette laughed and said, "That's the ticket, Drago. Lesson 109 says, "When all else fails, implement and execute heinous, diabolical plan yourself." I can see you paid attention to THAT lesson. Honestly, Ben… We thought you'd know better than to make threats at the holders of your mother, but… Sadly… We were mistaken. You're stupider than you look, you feral ingrate." He continued his laughter with renewed vigor.

Ben's face grew more feral by the second as the laughter continued. Gwen saw this and did everything in her power to cool the lycanthrope hybrid down, only for it to be interrupted by the brunette's voice.

"Even IF you were as good as King Kae Rool said you are, even villains aren't without honor."

This shocked Ben out of his anger as he contorted his face into a confused look. Gwen also quirked an eyebrow at the blue-loving pre-teen as both cousins/lovers looked on.

"Here are our terms:

Number 1: We will fight one on one; no tag outs, no ganging up on anyone, and no running away -"

"Wasn't planning on it." Ben interrupted. The brunette seemed to ignore this and continued.

"Number 2: Neither side will deal a killing blow unless one is deemed necessary.

Number 3: -" the brunette stopped in mid-sentence before vanishing into thin air and appearing right in front of Ben, forcing a yelp of surprise out of the half blood Loboan.

"No low blows or anything of the sort."

"Like what?" Gwen asked. 'Oooh, big mistake, Gwenny.' was the brunette's thoughts as he continued.

"Like THIS!" he shouted as he kicked Ben's right shin. Said Loboan hybrid let out a howl of pain as he lifted his leg to his gut and wrapped his clawed hands around the injured limb.

"Aaaaand… None of THIS!" he shouted again as he used his right hand's index finger to poke one of Ben's eyes, which caused the poor boy to shriek out in pain as he attempted to cover the injured optical organ.

"Also… None of THIS!" the brunette yelled out one final time as he grasped both of poor Ben's earlobes and yanked down as hard as he could.

"YEOUCH!" was Ben's only reply as the brunette asked, "Got it?"

Gwen had watched all of this occur, thinking all the while that she'd seen this somewhere before, but pushed it aside as one of the cartoons Ben used to watch. She finally shook her head and asked, "Okay, lemme get this straight… We can't do THIS?" At that, she kicked the brunette's left shin, mirroring her boyfriend's own injured shin, causing the boy to cry out.

"Or THIS?" Gwen asked as she poked the boy's blue eye with her own right index finger, causing him to yelp out.

Ben had finally caught on to what his girlfriend was doing as he finished what Gwen started.

"And we most certainly won't do THIS!" he cried out as he grabbed the brunette's earlobes and yanked down.

"OUCH! Yeah, ya got it." the boy said as he rubbed his ears.

As the brunette retreated back to his partner, both cousins shared a devious smile and hi-fived each other.

The brunette could hear the platinum silver haired boy holding back his laughter…

And either failing at it miserably or not even trying at all.

"Oh shut up, Drag-Queen!" the brunette shouted.

At this, said "Drag-Queen" stopped his laughing, opting instead to aim a glare that if looks could kill would have put the brunette six feet under.

"Oi, the name's DRA-GO, ya roadrunner!" the now named "Drago" shouted back.

As the brunette heard this, he slapped his hand on his forehead, groaning in annoyance. "You scale-covered ash for brains, you just gave away your name!"

Drago quirked an eyebrow up in confusion before asking, "So?"

"Does the term 'incognito' mean anything to you?" the brunette shouted.

~Meanwhile

At Yenalda's Cave

It had been a few hours since Yenalda and Anubis's earlier confrontation. Anubis did everything in his power to explain all that had happened to him.

From his ejection from the throne…

To being shown mercy by those that truly followed him to the very end…

To being accepted into the Plumbers…

And finally, to forming the _Plumbers S.P.D. Branch_, and what Ben and Gwen had to do with it…

And over the course of the time it took him to explain it, Yenalda had taken it in stride, but she still couldn't escape the old feelings of when he was the Dark Overseer.

The memories he left…

The nightmares he caused…

They would haunt her for the rest of her life…

But the Loboan before her wasn't the Dark Overseer… It was her brother; not the same, mind you, but it was her brother nonetheless.

"… And that's why I couldn't contact you about all this. I thought you'd still hold a grudge against me for what I've done to our kin."

Anubis's voice broke her concentration as she shook her head to look at the Loboan.

Her only reply was, "I still don't believe you wanting to put the past behind you…"

At this, he flinched slightly; believing that his fears were true.

"… But I do know that you are not the same pup my brother once was NOR are you the same monster as the Dark Overseer… So, for that, I forgive you, but I cannot forget -"

"I'm not asking for you to forget what I have done…" Anubis interrupted, "All I asked was that you heard me out, and you did. For that, alone, I am grateful."

"The ages have indeed changed you to be more benevolent, haven't they?"

At Yenalda's question, the S.P.D. commander chuckled before answering her.

"IF one could call my protocols benevolent, then I guess so."

The female of the two slapped her left claw onto her same side hip in a fashion that made her body scream "Oh no you DIDN'T!" and made a smile cross her face before saying, "But at least THIS time you have a reason to make them so difficult. You are training future defenders of the UNIVERSE for Grand Overseer's sake! You should be proud of them; ESPECIALLY of the ones tailing us." As she finished this statement, she looked over to the side of the cave where it was least lit.

Off in the shadows, all of Squad S flinched as she said this; each having different ideas on the same subject.

'Ssso, ssshe knew where we were, eh?'

'Mon, I KNEW I shouldn'tah wore dat cologne today…'

'How in tha HELL did she know we were here?'

'She KNEW!'

'I see the Commander has trained her well…'

'He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me…' (that one just kept going, so you not really missed anything with that one.)

Anubis's face of relief changed to one of stern neutrality as he asked, "So you knew?"

Yenalda caught a glimps of her brother and cast a dark grin before answering. "Truthfully, I didn't realize they were there until you mentioned something earlier about a 'Squad S'? When you mentioned what they were for, I was wondering where they were when you were with me. Then it dawned on me. Where is the BEST place to hide ANYTHING from an enemy?"

Anubis had a shocked expression as the realization hit him before speaking, "Right under their nose. I see you haven't forgotten that lesson, sister."

"I couldn't forget that one… It was that very lesson that allowed me to sneak past you and away from Lunar Loboa." Yenalda spoke somberly.

Anubis took on a face of self-disgust at the jab his sister made at him.

Just as he was about to tell Squad S to reveal themselves, one of the squad members jumped out…

Literally…

It was the blond haired Elvis wannabe. He had his hand behind his head and nervously laughed as he spoke, "Hehe… Sorry bout the whole 'hiding in the shadows' thing, but it's kinda in the job description, miss… Or is it misses?"

"I'd prefer the name 'Yenalda' if you don't mind…" Yenalda spoke in a low growl, a tick mark appearing just above her right eye.

Before the blond headed man could speak, Anubis cleared his throat, or pretended to do so, to get everyone's attention.

"You'll have to forgive Johnathan, here… He doesn't usually socialize with people outside of _S.P.D._…"

The now named Johnathan grew annoyed at the lycanthrope commander before screaming out, "HEY, the name's 'JOHN-NY!" at said Loboan before turning to Yenalda and tapping the side of his head with his left index finger, as if pointing to his head, and asked the female Loboan, "Got it memorized?"

At this, everyone else but the Aqua-Mipedian and the Orochidian of Squad S and the present alien werewolves face faulted. Both Anubis and the Aqua-Mipedian were slightly annoyed at Johnathan's remark, while Basillix and Yenalda were confused.

They all continued to look on in silence for a few minutes until a thought came to the Orochidian as he hissed a question to his CO.

"Sssir… Do you REALLY believe that entrusssting sssuch a delicate tasssk asss thisss?"

Anubis showed a soft smile as he said, "I believe that they are MORE than capable of doing this, but just in case…" He paused. "How does everyone else feel about this: do YOU believe that doing so was the right decision?"

Everyone except for Yenalda stared at each other, as if having a silent conversation with each other.

~Back with our protagonists~

Drago looked on at Vexents as if he had grown an extra head. "In a cog what?"

The brunette and everyone else present face faulted at the draconic looking boy's remark.

~Back with the Loboans and Squad S~

As if they had heard the conversation that Drago and Vexents were having, all that were looking at each other, save for Anubis, simultaneously shook their head and called out as one.

"Boy did WE screw up."

Anubis had other thoughts going through his mind. 'The boy is ready, I can feel it. I just know he will be able to succeed in his mission.'

~We now return to our Protagonists for good this time~

Out of the three fallen fighters, the brunette was the first one up, growling as he steadied himself. He felt pure annoyance towards the silver haired boy. He finally let out a sigh and said, "I guess we really SHOULD give our names… Lesson 3: "Make sure that you proclaim your name(s) to the hero(es)/sidekick(s) upon your first meeting". Any, I am known as the Furiously Fast Fighter, the Speeding Human Bullet -"

Before the brunette could continue, Drago cut him off saying "The fastest blabbermouth to ever speak in the known universe, HAHAHA!"

At his remark, the brunette glared at him and continued his introduction, slamming his right fist into his chest as he did earlier.

"The one!

The only!

VEXENTS CLOUDWALKER!"

All anyone, other than the now named "Vexents", could do was stare at the boy as if he were some kind of freak for making that kind of introduction.

After a few seconds of doing nor hearing nothing, Vexents began to feel the stares on him. He looked around and noticed everyone else staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

As he said that, the cousin couple shook themselves out of their stupor and remembered something. The looked to each other, as if asking an unspoken question, before nodding and looking back to the pair. Gwen decided now to ask, "Are there any other terms?"

Vexents just stared at her for a second or two before realizing what he was doing. "Oh yeah, right!" he called out, then cleared his throat before continuing, "There is ONE more requirement. WE -" Vexents pointed to himself, then to Drago, before continuing. "pick who we fight, even though I ALREADY know who Drago's gonna go after."

At this, Drago smirked under his mask.

"So all that's left is for Lesson 13: Antagonize the hero(es)/sidekick(s)." As he said this, he disappeared into thin air in a flash. Ben and Gwen were both looking around for him, but noticed that he was nowhere to be found. At least until Gwen felt a strange pressure around her gluteus maximus area. As soon as she felt something grab her, she let out an "EEP!" which startled her boyfriend/cousin. As soon as anyone knew what was going on, Vexents reappeared next to Drago and said, "Oi, Ben! Ya sure know how to pick'em! She's got one SWEEEEEET ass on her!"

Neither one of the cousin couple knew WHY, but this infuriated them BOTH to no ends, but Gwen got the worse of it. She was the VICTIM of that assassination attempt. All she could see was red. "Why you-!"

"I already picked MY opponent, Drag-Queen; looks like you get the leftovers."

*Play Benny Hill theme

Vexents laughed in a madly perverted way before he jumped up with his feet flapping like wings, his hands at his sides, and stuck his tongue out a few times before going "Meep meep!" and dashing off into the distance.

Gwen became outraged at this, and quickly taking to the skies to follow suit, but not before calling out to her boyfriend one last time, "Don't get yourself hurt cause if you do, I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE; I DON'T NEED THAT HANDSOME COAT OF FUR YOU GOT RUFFLED!"

*Song fades out

Ben and Drago both stared out at where Vexents and Gwen ran, or in Gwen's case; flew, off to before the silver haired boy shook his head and looked at the halfblood. He stared at the boy as a bully would stare at a potential target, smirking all the while he did.

"Well well well… Looks like I get to have some fun with you, furball." At the boy's remark, the half-Loboan looked back at Drago with sheer anger in his eyes before a smirk of his own overcame his face as he said, "Hello, misplaced aggression."

Drago snorted at the boy's attempt at a threat before saying, "Normally, I don't eat nor enjoy dog meat, but in this case: I'll make an exception!" As he said this, his smirk disappeared as he stood straight up, his arms bent at the elbows; said elbows touching the sides of his torso.

Ben was flabbergasted to say the least. 'This guy's taller than GRANDPA!'

Indeed, he SEEMED taller than Max, but he was, in fact, a few inches shorter. Standing at a proud 5' 3" was the behemoth that was Drago.

Ben mentally gulped before getting into his traditional Loboan battle stance (The same stance that he was in when he and Gwen sparred in chapter 2).

*Play Detainer by Day of Fire

Drago stared Ben down before jumping into the air a good 8 or 10 feet, his fist reared back; ready for a punch.

Ben saw this just in time, and promptly jumped out of the way before the attack made contact.

Drago had started descending to the ground before he threw the punch he had ready for Ben.

Drago's fist had made contact with the ground. That's when the true attack revealed itself.

*BAM!

A couple of huge, minivan sized boulders popped out of the ground; each with the base where Drago's fist hit the ground.

Ben barely managed to catch the boulders pop out before kicking off the nearest boulder to his right, and out of the way of the attack.

_Hey, what's it gonna take to bring you home_

As the half Loboan landed, he looked on to where the boulders had collided. He saw that somehow, during the collision, the boulders shattered into nothing but pebbles and dust.

_Hey, what's it gonna take to break that hold_He looked on to where he last saw Drago, hoping to see that he got caught in the backlash of the attack, but his hopes faded as he saw the boy; unharmed. 'Oh man… Just ONE of those blows can put me in the hospital for at least a month. If he gets a heavy one on me, I'm as good as dead.' were the thoughts going through the lycanthrope halfling's mind.

Drago looked up at Ben from his crouching position and saw the shocked expression on the boy's face as he stood up.

_If you want it,If you want it if you want itThen let go_

"Surprised?" the white haired boy/teen…

(AN: Ya know what, let's go with teen)

The white haired teen said, before continuing. "That wasn't even the tip of the iceberg, mutt. You've yet to see me even TRY to fight."

Ben heard this and mentally gulped before he realized something. He decided to take a shot in the dark. "So you're the real threat between you and that speedster?"

_If you want itIf you want it if you want it then let go_

Drago merely chuckled before replying, "Well, physically, I AM the stronger of the two, but my partner's got me beat in every other field."_Hey, what's it gonna take to bring you home_

As the white haired teen said this, Ben felt horror shoot through his body as he thought, 'If that's true, then I'll have to finish this quick!'

_Hey, what's gonna take to break that hold_

"**SHADOW FOOOOOOOOORRRRM!**" cried Ben as he changed into his **Shadow Form**. He then took his traditional stance as he gathered **Shadow Energy** into his body.

Drago saw this, but ignored the boy.

_If you want it,If you want it if you want itThen let go_

Ben then unleashed the energy he had been gathering as he dashed towards his opponent, spinning like a tornado as he cried out "**SHADOW SCREW!**"

_If you want itIf you want it if you want it then let go_

The attack neared Drago at intense speeds, but he didn't even move to stop it.

It got closer…

And closer…

And closer…

*Stop Song

*BOOM!

The explosion ripped through the surrounding area of about 5 feet. The sound of flapping cloth could be heard as Ben jumped out of the dust cloud, smirking as he thought he had just won.

However, when the dust settled, Ben got the shock of his life.

Where there stood a white haired human boy with a scaly complexion, now stood a white haired black dragon anamorph. The creature's scales were diamond shaped and raised, giving the feel that if he were to simply rub his skin the wrong way on you, you'd be cut pretty deep. His hands and forearms had weird organic-like bone white plates on them with edges that looked just as sharp as the scales themselves. The knuckles were covered in what looked like diamond shaped pieces of bone on each knuckle; each one looked like they would stick out if he made a fist with any of them. Ben finally looked up at the head, and boy did he regret it. The creature's head looked longer than a human head, yet shorter than a brown bear's snout. Gone were the icy blue eyes; in there stead were amber colored eyes, though the slit for a pupil was still there. The creature looked on at Ben with a seemingly amused expression. The half Loboan could barely see the smile under the mask now that it was straining to stay on. As if reading the boy's mind, 'Drago' used his mouth and razor sharp teeth to bite through the mask as if it were cotton candy. After effectively ripping the mask off with only his mouth, he spat the few pieces that were in his mouth and grinned to show off his razor sharp teeth, each one from back to front were sharper and longer than the last.

The crazed dragon/human hybrid looked at Ben with a sinister gleam in it's eye as it looked on. Ben gazed at the monstrosity in pure shock and awe that was in front of him. Then the creature spoke out to him with a deep dual tone voice that was a cross between the boy's own voice and some maniacal demon.

"**So, wolf-boy… What do you think?**"

Ben immediately snapped out of his stupor and began growling at 'Drago'. "What sort of trick IS this: first you show off Superman-like strength, and NOW you change into a humanoid REPTILE!" asked the Loboan half-breed.

The creature's grin changed into a frown as it snarled at the half-lycanthrope, clearly upset at what Ben had said.

*Play song Orochimaru Fight

"**A reptile? A REPTILE! I am no reptile, you living, fur-covered sack of dog meat! I am a DRAGOON!**" As soon as the words left the creature's mouth, 'Drago' began to gather a shiny, glowing energy into his mouth. Ben was stunned at the sight until it started to get too bright to look directly at the draconic hybrid. He then looked around after seeing the small orbs of said energy were coming from one direction: the sky.

Ben, himself, decided to look up at the sky, and found out where the orbs were coming from. As soon as he looked up, however, he heard a blast coming from 'Drago's' direction and jumped a good ten feet into the air, barely avoiding a shinning blast that was as big as he was. The attack faded after a good two seconds; just centimeters away from the face of a road runner. Seeing the strange ball of light disappear caused an alarm to go off in the bird's mind, telling it to flee; and flee it did.

Ben landed on all fours and looked back at where the attack went, only to find it vanished. "**You like?**" 'Drago' asked with a hint of amusement in it's voice before continuing, "**That was one of my specialties: the **Solar Bomb**. I can gather the pyrokinetic energy that gathers on a planet's surface from it's sun. I like to call this energy **Solar Energy**. Of course, I can breath fire, me being a Dragoon and all, but in this form, I have limited fire-breathing capabilities whereas with **Solar Energy**, my potentials are INFINITE!**"

To emphasize this, it began to gather more **Solar Energy **into it's mouth before firing another **Solar Bomb** at Ben. Said Loboan halfbreed barely had enough time to dodge this attack by dashing madly to his left, but that didn't mean the attack missed; it just didn't hit anything vital.

The blast barely skimmed Ben's right pants leg around the calf area, causing the cloth to catch on fire. As soon as he felt the heat on his calf, Ben quickly turned 'putting out the fire' into his top priority. As soon as he started beating at the small flames that gathered on his leg, he heard a loud explosion off in the distance, and turned his head in the direction of where the sound came from.

He wasn't the only one that heard it, though. Drago, too, turned his attention to where the sound had come from, but unlike Ben, who had no idea what caused the explosion, he knew what or who had caused it.

'**Looks like the idiot hit another wall… Damn I REALLY wish I had gotten someone with a little more sense -**' That was as far as he had gotten in his train of thoughts as he sensed a spike of **Shadow Energy** before said energy completely vanished. He looked towards Ben to see that he has reverted back to normal. At this, the dragoon smirked, although with his facial features, you'd confuse the smirk for an outright creepy grin. The loboan halfbreed was also on his hands and knees; panting as if he had ran several miles at max speed. Drago's evil looking grin became even wider. Slowly, he turned his body towards the lycanthrope and began walking to him.

*End Song

~Back with the Loboans and Squad S~

After having a few words with each other; getting to know each other better, explaining the test to Yenalda, and describing who Vexents and Drago are; the group began walking towards where the fights were taking place. Yenalda was anxious to see how her son and niece were fairing with her training. In fact, she was so anxious, her tail acquired a nervous twitch every second on the dot. Anubis, the Aqua-Mipedian, and the Orochidian were the only ones that noticed, and out of the three only Anubis made an effort to calm his sister's nerves. He placed a relaxed clawed hand on her shoulder and said, "Dear sister, you must relax, and believe that Ben and Gwen can pass their initiation tests -"

"That's just it, brother; I KNOW they can pass." was the hasty reply of Yenalda.

"Then what is it that makes you so anxious?"

"For one, I've noticed something dwelling within Ben; something I have not felt since our last Overseer before your reign, brother."

Anubis looked at his sister with a face of mixed shock, awe, and horror before asking, "Since our father? Really?"

"Yes, bragrrr(1A)."

Anubis became nervous, himself, after hearing this. He looked up at the sky with a contemplative look adorning his muzzled face before looking back at his sister. "If that is the case ssgrrra(1B), did you teach him THAT technique?" he asked.

Yenalda looked up at her brother with a face that read "What do you THINK I did, idiot?" before replying, "Of COURSE I taught him THAT technique; I had no other option! His power grew too fast NOT to teach it to him. But I gave him a stipulation"

Anubis's look of confusion told Yenalda that he was curious as to what the condition was. To answer his unasked question, she continued.

"I told him that he could ONLY use that technique if and ONLY if his **Shadow Form** fails him, and his opponent is close to besting him"

~Back with Ben and Drago~

*Replay Last Song

Drago was now over Ben's fallen form; grinning like a madman. A glint came to his eye as he contemplated his next move. After a second or two, the Draconic being spoke.

"**Such a shame… I thought you'd put up more of a fight then that… Aw, well; beggars can't be choosers, now can they, Benjy?**" Drago asked.

Underneath the shadows and hair covering his furry face, Ben's smirk went unnoticed.

Drago pulled his fist back, absorbing **Solar Energy** into it as he prepared the final blow, before a thought came to mind. '**Whoa, Drag! Dude, calm down! Your job was to test him and see if he passes, and he's failed, NOT KILL HIM!**' After a small mental argument with himself, he released some of the **Solar Energy** in his fist so that the attack was nowhere near as powerful as it should have been.

~Back with the Loboans and Squad S~

Johnny decided to ask the question that rocked Squad S's minds, "Sarry, but… What kind of 'Technique' are we talkin' 'bout?" As he said the word 'technique', he used air quotes as if to further emphasize the word.

Yenalda moved to answer, but Anubis cut her off before she could even get a word in edgewise.

"The technique she is referring to is one that out of the entire Loboan race only our father and ourselves have learned. It is a technique that makes it's predecessor, the **Shadow Form**, seem like a love tap."

~Back with Ben and Drago~

Drago finally got the attack power balanced out and had called out the name of the attack, **Apollo's Palm**. It is an attack that forces **Solar Energy** into Drago's fist whilst he is in his **Second Form** and expels it once his fist makes contact with the victim's body. If the victim is against a wall or on the ground, the result is a crater in the shape of a hand with it's fingers and thumb spread out.

*End Song

As soon as he called out the attack, he launched it at the fallen Loboan halfbreed, only for three things at once to happen.

First was a spike in **Shadow Energy** that was even greater than the spike he felt when Ben lost his **Shadow Form**.

Second was that Ben's change in appearance; he formed a maw about the length and shape as a Doberman, his body became bigger and more misshapen. His torso was roughly about three times bigger in width, length and depth. His arms increased in muscle mass by at least twice their normal size while increasing in length by two and a half times their normal length. His clawed hands became even bigger than the Dragoon's own; just one of Ben's hands was easily able to grab onto Drago's own fist with no room to spare. His legs increased in mass and length around the thighs while his feet were long enough that if he were to stand on his toes he could easily look like he was walking on stilts.

The third and final thing to happen was Ben grabbing Drago's fist with his own hand.

A small surprised noise escaped Drago as all three things happened. Ben, with his hair as long as it was in **Shadow Form**, slowly stood up; slouching so that his back was in a near perfect arc. He lifted his head slightly to show off his new eyes; black sclera with glowing vomit green pupils and purple irises.

~Back with the Loboans and Squad S~

"What exactly IS dis technique you mentioned called?" the man with dreadlocks, who introduced himself as Drezor Rokah, asked.

"Yes… *gasp* I, too, would *gasp* wish to benefit by learning *gasp* this technique's name. *gasp*" Squelker the Aqua-Mipedian added.

Anubis was ready to answer that question when he felt a sudden spike in **Shadow Energy**, as did Yenalda. Even though the two Loboans were looking off into the direction the spike came from, they answered just as Ben called out the same name

~Split Screen **Anubis**_ Yenalda_ Ben (AN: I'll do this when 2-3 people speak at once so that I can use _**this**_ to represent all 3)~

*Play Song Show No Tears by Nemesis Theory

"_**Shadow Form: MACH II !**_"

~Back with Ben and Drago~

Without warning, Ben slashed at Drago's chest successfully cutting deep into his scaled skin. While Drago winced in pain and clutched his chest where the damage had been dealt, the Loboan half-breed took advantage of his distraction and hurled the white haired teen high above him in the air. Jumping high into the air, Ben followed quickly behind him. The disoriented Dragoon just started to get his bearings when his opponent's assault continued. Ben slashed at Drago in the back, followed by a kick in the head, and finishing up with a spinning kick with the lycanthrope's ankle connecting with the back of Drago's head sending the scaled teen rocketing to the ground below; the force of the attack forced Drago three feet into the ground. Not wanting to take a chance that Drago might get back up again to attack, Ben, while falling, summoned more **Shadow Energy **than was necessary, he performed a **Shadow Screw**. The attack connected with the already downed Dragoon, causing a crater that was at least three miles in diameter. Ben leaped back out of the crater and readied himself for when and if his opponent got back up. He waited for several minutes before finally thinking he had won."Well I showed him." Ben smirked to himself, slightly dropping his guard. "I guess me and Gwen where worried over nothing if I can bet the crap out of you this easily. Gwen should be finishing up with your partner any second now…" Ben's mind started to drift to what might be happening with Gwen, but he didn't get far as a small and yet dark chuckle came from Drago direction."**Is that it! Is that all the great Ben Ten has to offer me as a fight!**" The ground began to shake. Part of the earth rose up form the ground some as high as ten feet 'Crap! What know?' Ben looked to the crater waiting for the Dragoon to make his move.

He didn't expect a hand to shoot out from under him and grab hold of his leg "What the -!" Was all the poor half-Loboan could get out before Drago pulled Ben down as he pulled himself out of the ground. Drago got in three solid hits before Ben's body flew back from the force of the hits; one in the chest (right fist), one to the left leg (kick with right leg) and a head butt that sent the him the lycanthrope flying back, ripping up bits of dirt and earth as he skidded across the ground.

~Back to the Loboans and Squad S~

"My god… Da power dose two got is unbelievable, mon…" Drezor was beyond amazed at the two combatants: the star pupil of Commander Kruger and the nephew of Anubis Kruger were both beyond what he had expected.

Everyone else on Squad S shared his sentiments; even the stoic Orochidian and Aqua-Mipedean were showing signs of bewilderment at the scene before them. Only Yenalda and Anubis weren't shocked; they were horrified and guilt-ridden.

'What have I done to my baby/ward?' was the single question going through the minds of both Loboans.

~Back with Ben and Drago~

"**It's been such a long time since I've had a good fight… It would be a shame if it has to end now…**" Drago spoke while walking to the still form of Ben. "**Come on, Ben, get up: I want to fight some more!**" Drago got with in five feet when he stopped "**Or would you rather have me kill you now and end this little game of ours?**"

No reply was given.

Drago just shrugged his shoulder and began collecting more **Solar Energy **"**I guess this is the end of the great Ben Ten. It a amazes me that Vilgax lost to a weak little pup like you…**" Drago's body was enveloped with **Solar Energy** as he made one final war cry. "**I'll send you to hell IN STYLE!**" The Dragoon hybrid jumped another ten feet into the air before calling out his next, and supposedly final, attack. "Solar Dragon Furry**!**"

All the **Solar Energy** was released at once in the shape of a soaring dragon; the attack heading straight for Ben. Just as the attack was inches away from him, Ben opened up his eye's and smiled; moving out of the way just in time as the attack connected with the ground kicking up enough dust to cover the battlefield. '**Good he moved… I was afraid I was really going to kill him.**' Drago thought to himself as he fell back to the ground, but a spike in **Shadow Energy** drew him back to reality. "I like that attack; mind if I borrow it?" Ben's voice spoke while he was still concealed in the dust as Drago landed. He prepared himself for the half-Loboan's next attack. Unseen by the Dragoon, Ben had jumped into the air, mimicking Drago's attack perfectly. "Lets see how you like it!" The lycanthrope's body erupted with **Shadow Energy** as he called out "**Shadow Wolf's Bane!**"

Ben unleashed all the energy at once, and, like drago's attack, it took an animal form; one of a wolf. Drago knew his attack might have had more power behind it, but Bens was far faster. Drago didn't' have time to dodge the attack; it connected before he could move.

The attack decimated the surrounding mile and a half in a black dome of **Shadow Energy**. Ben didn't land in best of way; he crashed to the ground on his side giving off a pained sound as he landed. "Ugh… I think I over did it…" he complained to no one as he looked in amazement at his attack while feeling his own power dwindle.

*End Song

*Play Song Destruction by Bruce Falconer

"Well, that's one down, one to -" he stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of something. His eye's widened in fear as the cloud of dust began to settle; a shadowed figure stood right in the middle. 'How? How did he live though that' was the only thought going through his mind. The rest of the dust cleared revealing that Drago stood in the same spot as before. Ben looked at him in fear that attack seemed to do nothing but cut him up a little and all but destroyed the gi and damaged the left leg of the ninja pants. The Dragoon turned to the lycanthrope and chuckled.

The chuckle then turned into a laugh. Not a psychotic "I'm going to kill you" laugh, it was more or less a "I'm having fun on this ride, let's go again" laugh.

"**I take back EVERYTHING I said about you, kid; that was DAMN impressive using my own attack to try and kill me! And on the first attempt, too!**" he stared clapping his claws together. "**But I created that attack and I know it's weakness, and considering you used **Shadow Energy** to perform the attack made it even easier to disrupt.**" he spoke while slowly brushing himself off. "**You see, at the last second when that attack is about to hit it's intended target, it shifts from an animal to a sphere; it's weakest point is the center. With a little **Solar Power**, I fired a condensed **Solar Bomb** into it's center disrupting the attack so that I would only receive minor damage.**" he explained, chuckling slightly while moving towards Ben who was trying to put some distance between the two, but his body had nearly reached it's limit with that last attack, Ben could only slowly craw away "**Plus your attack was made from **Shadow Energy**, my **Solar Energy** can easily rip though your shadowy power. If you weren't fighting me that attack would have killed anyone else.**"

'**Except for that goddamned roadrunner; god knows HOW he survives it…'**

Drago jumped from where he was standing and landed right in front of the half Loboan with his fist glowing and aimed to attack Ben's head "**Anything you'd like to say before I send you to the next life?**"

*End Song

Ben grinned as he gathered a small amount of **Shadow Energy**; just enough to pull off a **Howling Blast** that threw Drago back a few yards. After his opponent landed, Ben stood back up, but his energy was still depleting fast.

"I'M THROUGH PLAYING GAMES!"

*Play Song Okami Soundtrack The Time Has Come

~Back with the Loboans and Squad S~

"What doesss he mean by that, commander?" asked Basillix. His face was contorted to one of confusion as Ben mentioned he was through playing around. Yenalda and Anubis were BOTH confused at this when a voice surprised them all.

"It means he's going to pull THAT move off."

Everyone jumped in surprise and turned around to see a battered Vexents and Gwen, their clothes rather untouched, but their faces and exposed skin told a different story.

"Don't worry about us, the healing spell will heal us up soon." Gwen said. Just as she predicted, all the bruises and cuts both Vexents and Gwen have earned in their fight were disappearing before everyone's eyes.

"Explain, young lady!" demanded Yenalda.

"Oh, the spell I used is a low level one fro -"

"NOT THAT! What move are you talking about?"

Gwen looked surprised before finally smirking.

~Back with Ben and Drago~

Ben gathered all the **Shadow Energy** in his body into his throat and mouth. When it got to the point to where he felt as though all the pent up energy would literally rip him apart, he released it in a massive howl.

Drago groaned as he rubbed his head muttering something about sound based attacks when a spike of **Shadow Energy **alerted him of his opponent while a howl pierced his ears. He immediately brought his hands to his ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise. He looked around to find that Ben was the source of the monstrous howl. But it wasn't the howl itself that caught Drago's attention, hell it wasn't even the center of anyone else's attention; It was the sky itself.

The sky was turning from sky blue to orange to a dark purple, and then finally, to nighttime black. If that wasn't enough to shock everyone, then the moon suddenly appearing in the middle of the sky centered above Ben was.

~Back with the Loboans and Squad S~

"What the?" was Savanna's worried cry.

"What just happened: wasn't it 2:30 a few seconds ago?" asked Eliza as she observed the change.

"Anubis… Did he just -" asked Yenalda before her brother beat her to it.

"Sssguuur Gora…(2)"

Everyone but the Squelker and Basillix, who were both looking at the scene with impassive curiosity, and Gwen, who stood stock still, looked at both Loboans as if they were speaking nonsense, but Gwen decided to intervene and give an English version of what they had just said.

"**Tsukuyomi's Roar**."

~Back to Ben and Drago~

As the roaring howl finished, the moon above Ben began to glow a bright, silvery white as specks and sparks of the light slowly rained down on the Loboan, giving him a somewhat godly appearance.

*Song Fade Out

Ben felt the overwhelming **Shadow Enery** pulse through his whole body; the magnitude of it all overcoming his mind.

'The power… it's amazing! I've never felt anything like it; not even when I used the Omnitrix!' Ben thought as he felt the energy encompass him, but then felt a sharp pain in his head.

*Play Song 10's Pantera/Pantera 10's (AN: If anyone can correct me on this one, please do so)

The pain immediately magnified as he grasped his head in both paws, screaming in pain as it intensified by the minute. He felt as though he were losing his mind.

_My skin is cold, transfusion with somebody morose and old, drop into fruitless dying _

His fangs became even sharper, his claws only slightly longer, but his most dignifying changes were his hair and his muscles. His arms became about 4 times the mass of Drago's own current arms, the torso was easily big enough to cause a motorcycle to wreck on it. Ben's height was also at least twice that of the Dragoon's own height.

_It was tempting and bared, the whoring angel rising Now burning prayers, my silent time of losing_

Drago and everyone watched in fearful awe as the lycanthrope transformed and screamed, but the most dignifying change of all would be his hair.

It wasn't even hair anymore; it was tendrils of **Shadow Energy **that became larger the more of the silvery energy it absorbed.

Ben's eyes became solid white as he "looked" at Drago for a moment.

He stared at the Dragoon for a few minutes before finally unleashing a monstrous roar.

"**G'RAAAAAAAAAAGH!**"

_My foes - they can't destroy my body Colliding slow, like life itself_

At that noise, everyone knew that the Ben that they knew was long gone, but in his place was a feral monster.

AN: And there we have it! After months of finishing this chapter off, we finally come to the climactic fight between Ben and Drago take a turn for the worse for our draconic friend.

Drago: *gulp* This thing's actually got ME scared: **ME**! And I'm damn hard to scare!

SK90: I'm a bit worried myself... What do you have planned now?

Lyoko: Unfortunately for you guys, and the readers, I won't reveal that next chapter.

Gwen: WHAT!

Lyoko: That's because I'll use the next chapter to showcase Gwen and Vexent's fight.

Gwen: *looks embarrassed* Oops...

Ben: *hugs Gwen* Don't worry.

Gwen: *returns hug* Awww... Thanks, Benny.

Ben: No problem, Gwenny. *kisses Gwen*

Lyoko: Okay, now for the footnotes!

1: A. Brother; B. Sister

2: Lunar Roar

If you guys can, please review! Oh, and special thanks for sayianking90 for getting me off my butt and helping write this thing.

SK90: Thanks!


End file.
